Big news!

Joe is having a heart catheterization tomorrow.  He has been struggling with chest discomfort again.  He had his first hearth catheterization on 8/19/11.  We were told from his cardiologist that he had a widowmaker blockage.  This was the ONLY blockage that Joe had, too!  He would have had 5 minutes to receive medical assistance before his heart would sustain permanent injury from lack of blood flow.  This blockage is situated at the top of the heart and would have starved the rest of it.  Joe and the cardiologist agreed during the cath procedure that a stent would be the best quick fix.  Joe has never missed a day of medication or his cardiac rehab.  At the end of his rehab, they contacted the cardiologist to try a different medication as his bp was not going down.  It was not until last week that he started his new medication.  I'm hopeful that it's the new medicine causing his discomfort, but the cardiologist disagrees.  He wants to admit him tomorrow morning.  He actually offered to admit him on Thursday during his office visit.  Joe wanted to get some extra time with his boys and finish some things up at home beforehand.  He also got a chance to apply for two positions at work this weekend. 

If the cardiologist finds anything wrong, he has given us the following two options:  stent the stent.....or bypass.  The cardiologist is recommending the open heart surgery.  I do not yet know if he intends on the ON machine approach or the OFF machine approach.  We do not yet know if the discomfort is deriving from a separate blockage or if it is the widowmaker blockage again.  This will definitely affect the outcome from tomorrow's heart cath appointment.  He might be staying for one day.  He might be staying for one week.  I have his medical directive copied and ready to go for tomorrow.  I do dread having to make any life or death decisions about my husband and my boys' Daddy!  He is everything to us!!  Please, keep us in your prayers!

I am enjoying my new blog!

I am slowly, but surely, figuring out how to create my own blog that reflects my personality!  Yay!

Butter Bombs

I worked in the kitchen with John and Jacob this afternoon.  I let them add the ingredients to the bowl and stir it up.  We made butter bombs found at http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2011/11/butter-bombs-mini-bite-sized-biscuits.html .  It's so easy!  2 cups of self-rising flour, 1 cup sour cream, 1 stick of melted butter....mix it together and preheat oven to 400 degrees for 10-12 min and VOILA!

Jacob LOVES them and calls them CUTE!  I think he just loves that they will fit in his small hands!  They also taste delicious!  Jacob is, after all, my food connoisseur!

John and Jacob also helped me to make Pillsbury cupcakes!  I let them lick the beaters when we were done.  John usually bows out gracefully.  Jacob LOVES to lick the batter, though!  haha  He's a mess when it's over!  But then, he's 3 years old!  John is 4 yrs old!  I bring as much as I can down to their height level when we cook together.  It's easier than them stretching up high or risk falling.  I've been known to sit in the floor with them and peel apples and potatoes!

I think that I will be trying a few new recipes this holiday season!

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2011/11/butter-bombs-mini-bite-sized-biscuits.html#more

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2011/03/chocolate-sin-better-than-sex-recipe-my.html

These 2 recipes looked so yummy that I had to add them to my blog so that I would not forget where I found them later!  I absolutely LOVE the commentary on Deep South Dish dot com!  They can be located on Facebook by selecting https://www.facebook.com/SouthernRecipes .

I am presently trying this new recipe called Pizza Casserole that I found on For Mamas blog.  http://formamas.blogspot.com/2011/08/pizza-casserole.html  It's in the oven as I'm typing this!  Smells very good!  I like how simple it is to make.  It seems like a spin on a regular lasagna, but the egg noodles will be light and fluffy and the pepperoni will add some kick.  I added some minced onion and oregano to my ground meat while it was cooking.  I enjoy variety with my recipes.

The Great Flood of 2011 in PA

Officials have issued a MANDATORY evacuation for Wilkes-Barre (45 min North of us) and areas surrounding the Susquehanna River.  There are so many road closures in the area.  Hazleton schools are closed and that is 10 miles North of us.  St. Clair schools are closed (where I substitute teach) and that is 10 miles South of us.  They closed a section of I-81 exit 124 Frackville.......and we are exit 138 for Tamaqua!  Tonight is when the river will be cresting.  It's just such a sad time right now.  John's school was canceled in Tamaqua - no flooding here (maybe the local creek, but nothing major).  His teachers can't get here!  This should make my point about how teachers SHOULD BE LOCAL!  Joe seems to have made it safely to work across Blue Mountain.  I haven't heard of any closures on that side of the mountain! 

Stressful Day

It's rough being a Mommy!!  Some mornings are easier than others.  However, John and Jacob decided NOT to go to bed on time last night.......giggled ALL NIGHT LONG!  Luckily, I had Damien to watch the kids while I went to the local business college to find out about a career change from teaching to medical coding/billing.  I really enjoyed medical billing when I worked at Labcorp!  I begged them to send me to ICD9 coding class, but it never happened for me.  I'm now trying to find a way to go to college so that I can find full-time employment!  There are NO teaching jobs out there to obtain right now!  It costs $21,000 before any of my college courses transfer over.  I'm sure it will still be in the double-digit thousands even after that! 

Taking it Easy today!

I finally got my husband to watch the kids yesterday!  I didn't waste a single second!  I was like the wind and blew out the door and straight to the gym for my "me" time!  Today.....well today I'm paying for overdoing it at the gym yesterday!  haha 

I am in the process of decluttering our home and preparing for a community-wide yard sale this weekend!  Bye bye stuffed animals!  We also upgraded the boys from toddler beds to twin beds!  John has already fallen out of it!  haha  I sure hope that Daddy can keep the kids distracted this weekend so that they don't see their toys being hauled off by other kids!  That didn't go over so well last year for them.  However, I need to earn some extra dollars to put into an emergency fund for us. 

I am presently reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  Baby Step #1 is to build $1000 emergency fund ($500 if your annual income is less than $20,000).  Baby Step #2 is to tackle that annoying debt (minus the mortgage right now).  So...I'm on baby step #1!! 

My first blog! WOOHOO!

Hello everyone!  This is my very first blog and I'm absolutely excited!  I really want to figure out how to post special deals, coupons, fantastic values, and sweepstakes to enter!  I'm just a SAHM most days....unless I am fortunate enough to get a phone call for a substitute teaching job!  I love to be around all of the children!  They are frustrating sometimes, but a joy at other times.  All of you Moms and Dads understand!  I'm usually stuck in the house and find myself surfing the internet daily for good deals.  Other times, I'm working with my youngest sons on preschool skills.  I'm excited about all of the back to school deals that have been available!  I have found Elmer's Glue sticks (2 pk) for $0.40/each at Wal-Mart!  I snatched a few of those up!  I prefer Fiskars scissors for the kids and found those on sale at Staples.  That is my other "Go-To" place around here.  We're out in the mountains in PA and I have to drive at least 40 minutes by highway or interstate to find the largest stores.  I depend a lot on Wal-Mart and price matching other ads.  That saves me gas money to the larger cities!  That also saves my nerves from becoming frazzled by taking both children (3 & 4 yrs old) to the store with me!  However, if I see Target having a special deal like a gift card with purchase of so many items, I will make the sacrifice!  

Lately, I have been taking my children to see "Disney's Winnie the Pooh" at the local movie theater.  I have located a few M&M bags that say "Win Movie Tickets!" on them.  Inside, there is a special code.  You enter it online and you will receive $3 off of a movie ticket and approximately 2 months to use it!  I have used those during the matinee hours with my children at Regal cinema and used my Regal Rewards card each time.  Sometimes, a special coupon will print out for free soda, $2 candy (I usually get mine at Dollar Tree - same boxes), and Yahoo! Movies is giving out free popcorn if you send the e-mail to your smartphone.  Hint:  the e-mails are only valid for 7 days.  I found that out the hard way!  

We shall see how well this new blog goes!  =)