Autism Isn’t My Burden

Today there’s a 1 in 68 chance of having a child with autism. With more diagnoses being made, and more public awareness of the condition, almost everyone’s circle of influence has autism in it.

Growing up I never imagined I’d find myself right in the middle of this community let alone be the mother of a special needs child. I figured the good Lord knew I didn’t have the patience or stamina for the job. Yet, here I am raising not one, but two, children with autism. Despite my lack of patience, perfectionistic nature, and strong temper I’ve gotten endless compliments on my parenting.

Many of these comments surfaced right after I wrote ‘When life get’s hard’, which isn’t about autism so much as finding strength to battle my own inner demons. Ever since publication it seems all I get called is a ‘good mom’, an ‘amazing mom’, numerous compliments or cliché quotes about special kids have special moms, yada, yada, yada. Frankly, it’s kinda weird. (more…)

Kettle Corn-Almost Low Glycemic

Oh shoot! The party is today?

Criminy, that means I need to fit making a dessert into the schedule. What can I make in 15 minutes or less…

Sadly, I’ve had this exact conversation in my head far too many times this year. Between parties, neighborhood gatherings, church treats, and holidays the sweet tooth train never stops.

Fortunately, I’ve developed an awesome kettle corn recipe. It’s fast, easy, uses *common ingredients, and mostly fits our low glycemic diet. (more…)

How to Make Witch Hat Fascinators (Free Pattern!)

First off, aren’t these just darling? They’re perfect for children, dolls, or as a fascinator for the rest of us. I never realized what a push over I was for fascinators (mini hats) until I started making these up for Sunny’s mad hatter parties. I have my heart set on making myself a steam punk fascinator some time. Wouldn’t that just be fun!?

In the meantime I’m gonna have to settle for these cute witch hats. I really enjoy making them, not only are they easy but they’re inexpensive too. I can get 3 hats out of 2 crafting felt squares (I wait for sales to get them for $0.25 a sheet). That makes each hat base roughly $0.17 each! (more…)

Delectable Crockpot Chicken + Bone Broth!

Imagine you had to go on a diet that cut out all grains, all dairy, and all sugar (at least the processed stuff). Imagine the grocery bill…
Imagine the time spent in the kitchen…
Imagine the taste…

What if I told you, I not only created a recipe on that diet, but is also: frugal, easy, uses normal pantry items, requires 20 minutes prep, and tastes amazing? (more…)

When Life Gets Hard

Today, I’m writing about things that are deeply personal in nature. It scares the crap out of me, but I feel that I need to share this experience. I ask that if you choose to comment please do so respectfully.

Health has become a huge issue at our house over recent years, I touched on some of it with my kicking the brain fog but there’s still more to the story. It all started 5 years ago when the hubster came to me and told me he felt the need to go back for a graduate degree. I was all over that. I knew his goal was to own a theater someday (he’s a music dance theater grad) so I knew this would really help him.

I wrote most of that story in my living on $13,000 or less series, what I left out (more…)