Brennan....

When I asked Brennan what kind of cereal he wanted for breakfast this week, he got this really excited look on his face, and said, "Mama, you know that 'mercial that's on tv, and they sprinkle a little bit of magic in it? That's what I want!"

I said, "Lucky Charms? With the marshmallows in the cereal?"

His eyes glazed over, and he said really dreamily, "Yeeeeeeah. That's the one."

It was quite hysterical. Then, two minutes later he repeated that whole conversation with Chad. It was way too cute.

Before that, a couple of weeks ago we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop. (We were looking for an afternoon of fun-filled entertainment.... FREE.) So Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas. Brennan told him a bike, a Bible, and a race car track.

So a couple of days after that, he looked at me and said, "Mama, I want TWO Bibles."

I said, "TWO???? Why do you need two?"

Brennan said, "So I can learn even MORE about God!"

That kid is so cute sometimes.

Texaco

We had a great Thanksgiving. I will share a couple of recipes and how our holiday was at some point in the next couple of days. However..... I feel the need to let some steam off mentally......

This is some of an email I sent to Texaco headquarters after an experience I had tonight. I had to vent. And emailing and blogging and phone calls have helped. So here is some of the email:

I frequently visit the Texaco in Florence, Mississippi on Highway 49 north. It is less than 2 miles from my home and we buy our gas and many "last minute" items from there --- such as milk. We do business there a minimum of twice a week.

Tonight I stopped by there on my way home to buy a gallon of milk. I had my five year old boy with me. As a lot of five year old boys, he was wanting to be a "big helper" and grab the milk out of the fridge and carry it to the counter. I didn't think it was any big deal. As he was going to place it on the counter, he dropped it, and it hit the ground and exploded. I personally felt horrible. However, the girl behind the counter treated my son and me so rudely. As most parents would probably agree, you can mess with me, but don't mess with my child. She proceeded to explain-- VERY rudely--- that she was the only person there on staff and she didn't have time to clean it up. At this point there were 2 customers behind me watching this unfold. I try to be very nice and help out whenever I can or SHOULD, so I felt I should ask her for a mop and I would be more than happy to clean it up for her. (And I told her I would be more than happy to clean our mess WITH a mop if she could point me in that direction--- I even went searching for it on my own.) She REFUSED to tell me where a mop was and mumbled under her breath where some paper towels were. Then she turned her back to me. I was not about to clean up an exploded gallon of milk with a few paper towels, ESPECIALLY after she acted so rude to my child and me.

I proceeded to ask for a manager's name and number. She refused to give me a name, but said I could go look outside on the door for a number. So, I did. Before I called any of the numbers I went back inside to find out the cashier's name. She had on a jacket and refused to give me her name and kept her name tag covered. She told me she was not allowed to give out that sort of information. She had a teenage girl with her, who also refused any additional information. As I was asking this, they were getting a mop and bucket ready to mop it up, after I was told there was no mop, and they were also saying some really nasty things about the incident as I walked back in the store.

I called one number, who was listed as the manager. She was VERY nice, and told me she was no longer over that store, but gave me the updated info of the person who was currently in charge. I called her. She wasn't quite as nice, but was still willing to help.

The bottom line is, it was an accident. It could have happened to any adult just as much as it did my child. He saw how rude the lady was being, and was even walking around the store trying to find a mop and asking for a mop so he could clean up the mess he made on the floor. It broke my heart. I don't appreciate being treated so rudely. If you can't deal with the public, you shouldn't be in that line of work. I don't like drama and I certainly don't like any confrontations with ANYONE. I REFUSE to do business at that Texaco or any Texaco from this point forward. I will not buy gas from there, and I will certainly not be buying anything else from inside the store. There are 3 other gas stations within walking distance from that Texaco.

As I explained this story to my husband, he knew exactly who I was referring to, and has seen her act rudely to other customers when he's been inside the store.

Recipe

So tonight, I made something I haven't made in quite awhile. I love sharing recipes and I love people sharing recipes with me. Since it was an easy dish, and something I came up with in a pinch, I will share it for the few busy moms I know read my blog. SO easy and VERY good.

Baked Spaghetti. (so much better than plain, boring spaghetti!)

1 lb. hamburger meat
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1pkg. spaghetti noodles
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook hamburger meat and onion until meat is browned. Drain fat. Add jar of spaghetti sauce. Season to liking. (I used garlic salt and Splenda) Simmer for about 10 minutes. In square baking dish, layer UNcooked spaghetti noodles, meat mixture and shredded cheese. Pour chicken broth in dish enough to cover the noodles, meat, and cheese. Continue the layers until ingredients are used (or dish is full). Bake, covered at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour. Take out, uncover, sprinkle any remaining cheese, and cook an additional 10 minutes.

VERY good and SO easy. All you have to cook beforehand is the meat/onions.

I plan to start posting more recipes that I find convenient and YUMMY that my family always likes.

Any fellow blogger who wants to do the same, I'm always open for new ideas! I love to cook.

Couple's retreat..........

Chad and I went to a 24 hour couple's retreat with our church this weekend. It was so nice to get away and so relaxing and refreshing without the added pressures of parenthood. Last night, after our last session, we watched the movie "Fireproof". I was reminded of what a wonderful movie it was. Chad and I own a copy, but have never watched it since we saw it in the theater. It was good to watch it again. What a beautiful movie. Chad and I have lived through it and could have written the story line AND played the leading roles. If you haven't seen it, or just need to be reminded, watch the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lSu6GkC2k

More to come on the couple's retreat when my eyes aren't quite soooooo heavy.........

A random thought.....

One question I am seriously pondering...... If they can make adjustable waists for children in all their pants and jeans, how come adults can't have adjustable waists, too? That sure would be nice...... Maybe I should come out with my own line of jeans WITH adjustable waists for adults. That way, before the holidays AND after the holidays, you could still wear those same pants and be comfortable. Just a random thought......

Restoring S. Jackson

This makes me so sad. I actually talked to Scott Simmons himself as he just got through covering this story. (He was actually still on the news set.) I told him about my grandfather and the church he lead for 25 years, and I told him about my place of employment, and how faithful my boss has been to the area for 25 years, and it's not getting any better or hopeful. It makes me so angry and sad to see South Jackson crumbling like it is. I'm only 28 years old, but I have so many fond memories of S. Jackson and the way it was 20 and 30 years ago. It just decayed so fast. If I knew of a way to make a difference and make it WORK, I would be the first in line. I'm afraid it's too late.

The owner of the business they refer to at JMC Motor Sports is someone we know, and his business is a few buildings down from our dental office. His business is within a quarter mile of us.

http://www.wapt.com/news/21532890/detail.html

For those of you NOT on Facebook.....

This pretty much sums up their personalities. (One's escaping and the other is being a ham.)

We took the boys trick-or-treating at my grandfather's nursing/assisted living home on Friday night.

Again, this pretty much sums up his personality. He did this to himself. He's got a quiet, almost inconspicuous sense of humor.

My, what a big hat you have.....

This is when we thought he was just really sleepy due to lack of napping, but turns out he was coming down with the flu.

Chad's precious grandmother and Brennan.

Cowboy, Cowgirl, and Horse

Hey, wanna give me a kiss?

This is Ethan and his girlfriend, Kadeance. Yeah, she's hot.

My soapbox...............

So, I don't really know why I feel the need to share this - other than maybe it will be good therapy for me, so I will go ahead and tell my personal affairs, get it out in the open and move on.

A few months ago I became really ill and had to take a trip to the emergency room. Well, it was Memorial Day weekend to be exact. It happened late that Friday night/early Saturday morning. After much debate I went to MEA and filled out miles of paperwork, only for them to tell me they didn't take my (crappy) insurance. They suggested I go to the E.R. at a local hospital, where they would take my insurance. So, again, after much debate, and calling my sweet friend that's a nurse, I went. Long story short, after spending 5 hours in the E.R., having x-rays done, receiving pain and anti-nausea injections, and being inspected in parts of my body I don't want to mention, I was released with no diagnosis. Just a shrug of the shoulders and a prescription for pain meds.

A few weeks later, I received a bill in the mail. The next day, I received another. Then another. The bills kept piling up. From ONE hospital visit. It came to a grand total of over $2,500 for ONE visit to the hospital. This was my out -of -pocket expense. My (crappy) insurance didn't pay but a few dollars. It cost less for me to have a baby and spend 3 days in the hospital with NO maternity coverage on my health insurance.

I've said before, Chad and I don't make a ton of money by any stretch of the imagination, but we try to live well within our means. We both have excellent credit (which is obvious considering that when my identity was stolen, she got away with $100,000 worth of merchandise..... and no, that's not a typo. I said ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars.) But, because I couldn't pay up on a $2,000 medical bill all at once, this particular hospital turned me into collections. Yes, a COLLECTION agency. I have never in my life been turned over to a collection agency.

So, what happens when you get turned over to a collection agency? I will tell you: Harassing phone calls. I've gotten two within the past 5 days. And I was JUST turned over on October 20. I didn't even know it, either, until I got the phone call, because we had been paying what we could on the hospital bill each month. I had even talked to a representative from the hospital to tell them what we could pay each month. They seemed okay with that. But, I certainly am NOT okay with being turned over to a collection agency.

I know the lady was just trying to do her job when she called, and I feel bad... I really do, but I totally lost it with her and hung up on her. I can't pull money off of the money tree that simply doesn't exist. I was also really irritated over the fact that I was receiving a phone call after JUST talking to someone from the same agency. I am a hard-working person, with good work ethic. I give back to those in need, and I also pay my taxes. So, even though I pay my taxes, DON'T take advantage of the government, AND give back to society the way I should, WHY-OH-WHY am I getting the short end of the stick, and getting a bad rap?????

I could tell you why...... but then I would just be getting on my soapbox.... and we don't want to go there, because it's not even worth wasting my time.......

It's the friggin' flu!

Well, it's official. I was hoping we would be some of the few remaining earthlings to not get caught up in all this media-sensationalized swine flu hype.... but, alas, we've been hit. GRRRRR. (That's about the only thing I can say!)

And of the four of us to get the virus first (and hopefully last), it was Ethan. It came on suddenly. Strangely enough, the swine flu is actually milder than a common cold. Other than Ethan running a high fever and a slightly drippy nose, he had no other symptoms. And we only took him to the doctor for his fever. He was very, very tired yesterday afternoon and wanted to do nothing more than sleep, but he played and laughed instead of napped yesterday, so we thought that was why he was so sleepy. Then during the night he became very feverish. So, Chad took him to the doctor this morning while I took Brennan to church, and they did a flu test and it came back positive.

My main complaint, however, is not the virus. It's the medicine. We always use Kroger to fill our prescriptions, so I went straight from church to Kroger. They were slow and apathetic towards my sick baby, and when it finally was my turn, they said they were out of Tamiflu. Which is what is prescribed for, oh.... I don't know..... EVERY person diagnosed with the flu. After making several phone calls, the pharmacist finally found a drugstore that had the medicine. (Apparently, the manufacturer is having a hard time keeping up the supply because it's in such high demand.) I knew it would be a little pricey. So when he gave me my grand total of $52.73, I didn't flinch too much. That is, not until I got home and pulled out the bottle. Twelve milliliters of liquid - twelve MILLILITERS of liquid cost over $50. Why the heck do we even have health insurance? We can't afford to get sick even with it!!!!!!! GRRRRR! (Again!)

And even with the swine flu being so contagious (and expensive), I still don't think I am going to allow my family to be vaccinated. I just don't trust anything that was made in such a hurry, and no one knows what kind of long term effects the vaccination could have. I'm a big believer in vaccinations, but not this one!