For Patrick

I just want to let the world and YOU know how much I love you! I love you more than words can say! I love it when you touch me (even if it does tickle). I love the way you will do the little things for me. I love the way that you kiss me when I am asleep...even though it scares the shit out of me at times!!!! I love the way you love the kids. I love you! I love the fact that you do the laundry. I love it when you offer to do the dishes even though you hate doing them! I love that Colby has you in his life.


I LOVE YOU!!!

Terrible...Is it really???

I was reading my beautiful sister-in-law's blog the other day, and someone posted a comment saying that she knows someone with autism, and that it is a terrible disease.

Terrible: distressing; severe; extremely bad; horrible;

While I do agree that Autism can be severe, distressing, extremely bad, and horrible, I do not think that it is really on the list of "Terrible Diseases" that a child can have. There are truly terrible diseases. There is Cystic Fibrosis (a disease that affects the secretory glands)and Cerebral Palsy (there are several types)...these are terrible.

There is Anencephaly which is a defect in the closure of the neural tube during fetal development. These babies are born without a forebrain (the front of the brain) and a cerebrum (the thinking and coordinating part of the brain), and they usually die within a few days...This is a terrible disease.

There are other terrible diseases, but I do not consider autism one of them. I am sad at times that my son has autism. But I think God knew that I was the one who could take care of this extremely hyper child. I am thankful that God thought enough of me to make me Colby's mom. I am blessed to have an otherwise healthy child.

The Life Lessons of Harry Potter

Good Life Lessons of Harry Potter

As many of you know, I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I know that there are people who believe that these books are "evil"and linked to "witch craft", but I think these books are great. The books are based upon the belief that GOOD will overcome EVIL. The Harry Potter Series are based on love, loyalty, empathy, acceptance, friendship and other truly good life lessons.

There is lots of love through out the series. Voldemort (the bad guy)/Professor Quirrel could not touch Harry because Harry's mother loved him so much that she died for him. Harry loves Ginny so much, that he breaks up with her...yes it was dumb, but Harry thought it would help save Ginny.

Loyalty plays another big role. Harry is loyal to his friends, and they are loyal to him. Lots of people are loyal to Dumbledore. Dobby is extremely loyal to Harry.

Harry is empathetic. He understands how Ron feels about not having enough money. He lets Wormtail live even though Wormtail essentially kills his parents.

Acceptance is another great lesson of this series. Dumbledore accepts "Mudbloods" into the school. He also accepts Snape as reformed. Harry accepts Neville and Luna as friends, even though the rest of the school are not huge fans.

Friendship plays a huge role. Harry's friends help him out all along the way. Could Harry have fought Voldemort without the help of his friends???

Other great lessons of the Harry Potter Series:
1) Do not always judge by what you see. Harry always thought Snape was bad, but as it turns out, he wasn't. He helped Harry out several time.

2) All knowledge is power. Luna is full of seemingly useless information, but it helps Harry out at times. Dumbledore gives Hermione a book of children's fairy tales, but there are clues within that book.

3) Do not underestimate anyone. Voldemort made this mistake, and we know what happened to him. Everyone also underestimated Neville. He turned out to be a decent wizard.

OK so the whole point of all of this is: Love with all of your heart, Stay true to your friends, Show sympathy when someone needs it, Accept people for who they are, Do not judge, Constantly Learn, and Do not underestimate even yourself.

Sunday Night Dinner with MellyMir's Family

MellyMir's Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Small yellow onion finely chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1 Tbsp minced garlic (This is what the recipe calls for, but I never measure it out. I just use about 3 large cloves of garlic minced)

1 large egg

16-ounces ricotta cheese

10-ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped further (or 10 ounces chopped fresh spinach)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 28-ounce can tomatoes with herbs, tomatoes broken up (or your favorite tomato or pasta sauce)

2 9x13 shallow baking dishes

How to Cook It!

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 teaspoon salt per quart of water). Cook the pasta shells according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

2 Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan, breaking up the sausage into smaller bits. Cook sausage until cooked through, and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove pan from heat.

3 Beat the egg lightly in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sausage mixture. Fill each cooked pasta shell with some of the ricotta, spinach, sausage mixture.

4 Spread 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes over the bottom of each of the baking dishes. Arrange the stuffed pasta shells in the dishes. Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.

At this point you can make ahead, to freeze (up to four months) or refrigerate before cooking. (If freezing, cover with foil, then wrap with plastic wrap.)

5 Heat oven to 375°F. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Serves 8.

A side note: Sunday is my "FREE DAY". By "Free Day", I mean that Sundays are the days when I can eat whatever I want, as much as I want. This meal is VERY fattening, and is not meant to be eaten on a daily basis. So, on this Sunday, I am going sit back, watch a movie, relax and eat some stuffed pasta! NOM NOM NOM!

MellyMir and Stress

Everyone has stress in their lives. Some have more stress than others. Some people deal with stress better than others. Some people like to drink alcohol after a stressful day...not me! Don't get me wrong, I love alcohol as much as the next mom, but when my day has been particularly stressful, I want a nice warm cup of tea. I have found a new favorite!



It is a loose leaf tea with major flavor. It is more pricey than Lipton tea bags, but I am pretty sure that it is A LOT less expensive than a psychiatrist. Besides, can you really put a price on sanity???

My Second Favorite Time of the Year!

I love Summer. I love the heat! I love grilling out. I love swimming with the kids. I love EVERYTHING about summer. I also love cooking and baking, and well...It is just too hot in the summer to do much of that. So, that brings me to my 2nd favorite time of the year...





...FALL!!!!!!


My husband really only eats chocolate desserts. Don't get me wrong; I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but after 5 years, I am tired of brownies and chocolate chip cookies. I am in the mood for Pumpkin Bars.



Like these from Paula Deen.

Now that I am REALLY craving these, I am off to make some!

I know...I KNOW

It has been a long time since I have blogged about anything. So much has gone on, that I have not really had a chance to sit and write. This is all about the change. I am going to get back into the swing of things and start writing again!