Day 2 of Reaching our 2016 Goals.

Today was the first day of making meals out of the freezer and the cupboards.  We are only buying things we are completely out of.

Spending:  Kwik Trip  $1.75 for Mackie's bananas and took back our FREE Redbox movie to avoid paying for it.

Savings:  Doc got ahold of his cell phone provider, cancelled a line we did not use, got more data, signed up for his work sponsored cell phone discount and managed to save $70.00 a month.

I downloaded some financial household management forms and we paid bills and got all our information to them.  We are on our way!

Back to Frugal

My New Years Resolution is to get back to my frugal roots. I am Ann and I like to shop, I have enough. The years without has caused me to spoil my children, grandchildren in ways we couldn't before.  I need to get organized after 4 years of Mackie watching every minute.   We have two financial goals, to pull together a substantial downpayment on a Lakehome for our use now and to retire in 10 years and to save money all the while paying down our debts.

Back to blogging and with it, holding myself accountable!

We are pre qualified for a mortgage on a second home.  With Kristy and Chris up at the lake and Nathan and Stacey spending so much time at her parents lake cabin, it made us think that we needed a place away from work for the Doc.  A place to spend time with family and extended family. Time is moving forward and spending time with family and peacefulness is what is most important.  Besides saving for our retirement home and putting it into savings doesn't bring much to the table. But by buying now, and we can have the tax deductions of the interest, taxes etc. which will save on our huge yearly tax bills.   So Uncle Sam helps subsidize our earnings and we can work on paying it off in the meantime.

With a good chunk of change and finding out that we need twice that, I am in huge savings mode.
I think I can do it. But going cold turkey and not allowing for anything I know is not feasible.  So couponing and coupling it with deals and freebies will give me a challenge.

But it will require willpower, and I have been really good at spending money.

Day 1:  Free BluRay Video Rental at redbox.com by using code: NEWYEAR.  Savings $1.50

Used my Kohls cash $110 plus my Kohls MVC rewards $70 and bought new sheets, new cool comfort pillows.  Paid $14.69  savings: $375.00 off retail after Kohls Cash and Kohls MVC Rewards. Ebates: a mere $.30 but every penny adds up.  My Christmas shopping at Kohls has paid off and put to good use with a need.  The Master Bedroom bottom sheet got a big tear. The old set will hit the trash and the thrift shop. My pillows need replacing.  The new in and the old out!

Paid $6.99 for a downloadable pattern and one FREE pattern at Pixie Faire.com  I have fabric on hand and plan to sew this month.  Someone's birthday is coming up in February.  Pixie Faire offers a FREE pattern download on Fridays.  Savings $5.99

Total spent today: $21.68  Savings $382.49. Rebate from Ebates: $.30

Looked at the blogs and found a few stock-up deals which we will pick up this weekend.

So far so good...

Now to just make savings and using what we have and only getting what we need to make our dream come true.

The Most Amazing Gluten-free Waffles Ever

My daughter Kristy created the most amazing waffle recipe ever.  It has been been served at a breakfast brunches and parties to gluten eaters with rave compliments.  I have made this over and over again and it is a staple at our house every weekend.

With so many friends and acquaintances who eat Gluten-free and new gluten-sensitive converts, I needed to get to it to a place for easy future reference. We like them so well, we double the recipe.

Kristina Howe's Gluten-free Waffles

1/4 cup (1/2) stick Butter, melted

3/4 cup Sour Cream

1/4 cup Vanilla Yogurt

1/2 cup Sugar

5 Eggs

1 cup gluten-free flour mix (We all use Pamela's which contains rising agents)

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Dash of Salt

Cream the butter, sour cream, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and sugar together.  Add the flour and start making waffles! 

To make them low fat, add no fat sour cream and I have been known to use half butter/half Coconut Oil. To go sugar free add Agave or a sugar substitute.

Pamela's Pancake and Waffle Mix. I also use the Banana Bread recipe from the package and buy it in bulk from Amazon.com. 

 

Thank you  Kristy for creating the most amazing Gluten-free waffles ever. 

These are amazing just remember they are very rich and you will struggle to eat an entire waffle.

Gluten-free Pasta Shapes for Kids--Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Little Dreams (5 Star rating in our house)

With a feeding challenge toddler in the house, we are now into new territory. Gluten-free Shapes for our pasta in casseroles. Actually I was surprised at how well the Tinkayada Little Dreams Pasta turned out, even with me leaving it for extra time.

The shapes of trains, cars, trucks, bears etc. stayed better than any regular pasta I have seen and gluten-free pasta can be a challenge. But Tinkyada is my preference with gluten-free pasta buying. I would highly recommend it for wee ones who are eating gluten-free.

Gluten-free Lunch Ideas: Tuna Melts

A lunch favorite and inexpensive fast meal at our house are Gluten-free Tuna Melts.

Easy recipe:

Can of Tuna
Chopped fresh onion
2 Tablespoons of Dill Relish or Chopped up Dill Pickles
4 or 5 Tablespoons of Gluten-free Salad Dressing
Your favorite shredded Cheese

Mix ingredients together. Spread on top of Slices of Udi's Sandwich Bread or your favorite Gluten-free bread. I love using older dried out bread instead of throwing it out.

Put in your Broiler and watch carefully. A toaster oven works well also. Remove once the cheese melts.

These small tuna melts are incredibly filling.

A Christmas I Can Never Forget.

Twenty three years ago, we had lost hope. With a dying baby, I was facing my other children with empty stockings. Our cupboards were bare. We were becoming a statistic of families in crisis, our daughter denied insurance and we had to fall into poverty to cover her hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. I prayed for a miracle.  This is our miracle story of HOPE and a yet unknown Santa or Santa's who gave us the catalyst to change the course of our lives.  We are incredibly blessed by the miracles of that evening. I can never forget.

Our Tiny Titan never gave up and neither did we.

Christmas is a time of giving and miracles. Miracles are meant to be shared .In this days of sadness and tragedy  in the world and with so many struggling with joblessness, uncertainty of health care in our country, and others facing life changing medical conditions. We all need to believe in good and caring. I knew I needed to share it for FREE to offer HOPE and move hearts. I have arranged with my Publisher, Better Endings, New Beginnings to give it away.

Tiny Titan, One Small Gift on Kindle Electronic Download. Beginning tomorrow Tuesday December 18 through Saturday December 22 for FREE.

Chapter 9, "Christmas" has been told through major media over the years, landing in Women's magazines, media many Christmas feature stories and even the other side of the world when  Nippon TV recreated the Christmas story for the December 12, 2007 episode of the World's Most Amazing Stories. It is our gift to share the events of that Christmas forward.

If you read no other part of the book, take a few minutes and read Chapter nine.I have also posted the Christmas Chapter here on my blog for anyone to read when they have time. 

Chapter 9 Christmas from Tiny Titan, One Small Gift

To learn more about Noonan Syndrome

Have a very blessed Holiday season from our family to yours.

Ann Yurcek

Tiny Titan, One Small Gift is Part One of the Printed Copy of Tiny Titan, Journey of Hope available at Amazon.com 
Mom's Choice Award Winner-Best Adult Non-Fiction
5 Star Dove Award

Http://www.annyurcek.com

Miracles Are Meant To Be Shared, Our Christmas Miracle

The Free Christmas Chapter From Tiny Titan, One Small Gift
Download Tiny Titan, One Small Gift for Kindle here .
Available for FREE at Amazon.com
from Tuesday, December l8 through Saturday,  December 22, 2012
Our gift to you this Holiday season.


Chapter 9
Christmas

I sunk into despair. The holiday was fast approaching and Christmas was the last thing on our minds with Becca critically ill in the PICU and everyone else sick too. There was no money for gifts, and there was no time to buy or make anything. I was sick, tired and depressed over the circumstances we found ourselves in. If the phone rang, I was afraid to answer it because it might carry the news that Becca was worsening or no longer here. The phone was a constant reminder of trouble. It rang with bill collectors waiting for money. It rang when medical personnel had more dreaded news or another crisis for Becca. My emotions rose and fell like tidal waves, up, up, up and down, down, down. I tried not to think; not thinking was how I coped. It was like the stairs I ran at the hospital, up and down, and then I’d stop and sit, empty and mindless. I could not think about my children going without gifts at Christmas, but our lives were impossibly out of control. We had fallen into a dark hole due to no fault of my innocent children. At any moment they were going to lose their new baby sister. They were caught in the tidal wave of catastrophic illness when they needed a Santa most to give them hope. How would I explain to my children that Santa forgot them?

I was used to planning ahead and beginning in July bought two presents each month to cover birthdays and Christmas. Over the years my frugal plan had worked flawlessly. I squirreled away the hottest toys for Christmas gifts with early season purchases. While other families were school shopping I was  making wishes come true. It was a challenge to make my kids birthdays and Christmas memorable. I love the holidays and I began to bargain shop for Marissa’s September birthday gift. I budgeted a little each month until Christmas, finding sale and clearance treasures, completing my shopping race under budget. In November we celebrated Jim, Nathan and Ian’s birthdays followed in December by Matt’s birthday, and then Kristy’s birthday in early January. The gifts I bought with Jim’s carpet points guaranteed the boys November birthday gifts. Matt at age three was easy; all I needed was something big. Big for my little kids were exciting and ten dollars went a long way. Other than that I had nothing. We had already used the house payment money to pay for medicine, throat cultures and doctors visits for the kids and me while we were sick.

I was a rookie in the being broke game. I called Toys for Tots and discovered I was too late. They quit accepting new registrations before Thanksgiving. Luckily I remembered buried in the rafters, hidden from my sneaky children I had one gift I had purchased before things fell apart. Before Becca was born I had purchased the new pirate ship Lego set that had caught Nathan’s eye. It was an expensive present, and I could put both boys’ names on it. I had already cut out doll clothes and a dance costume for Marissa, but the fabric pieces remained on my closet shelf while I was sick. Now that Marissa was home from kindergarten I would not be able to get the covert sewing done, besides I was still too dizzy to sew my visions for Marissa’s holiday present. My eyes were seeing double. We would share dinner with relatives and I hoped I would have a dish to pass, but my cupboards were as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s. My head spun at the thoughts of a hopeless Christmas and the room took another whirl; exhausted I took some Benadryl and fell back to sleep.

While I slept, Kristy took the picture of Becca from the fireplace and sat alone in a quiet place to cry. It was something I never knew she did until years later. People often think children don’t know what’s happening but they are much more a part of the reality than the adults realize. Kristy never complained and she protected us by caring for the little ones and not adding to our burdens. I worried sometimes about how this would affect her in the future. Today, she tells me it was the substance that made her strong.

The little elves in my family executed a Christmas plan. Kristy found the Christmas tree in the garage, and she and Nathan, my mechanic, assembled it. Ian and Marissa got busy cutting out paper snowflakes and hung them with dental floss from the ceiling and windows. My little red and green sewing pins stuck six stockings to the mantle. When I awoke, they surprised me with their magical transformation. I had not lifted a finger. They had carefully hung each of their hand made wooden, beaded angel and needlework ornaments crafted by Jim’s parents. Hundreds of hours of love radiated from the tree centered in a carpet of paper snowflake snippets.

I explained to them that Christmas was about family and being together and sharing memories. What was going to be special about this Christmas was that the Yurceks were a family. Christmas is about the baby in the manger who brings hope to a dying world. Our baby was in the hospital and all we had was hope. After spending seven days in bed, I was regaining my strength.

Why did I feel such shame that Santa might not come this year? I prayed, “Oh Lord, How can I find gifts for Kristy, Marissa and Matt? It is already December 23. How can I let my children down? How can I face Christmas morning empty handed? The kids’ baby sister is dying. They need something good to happen.  Please don’t let their baby sister die at Christmas.”

My children were ready for Christmas. I was not. I couldn’t expect my parents to shower my children with toys; they were struggling with my dad’s recent unemployment. My parents blessed my children with attention, but had no financial resources to give.

Becca was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) just as I had fallen ill. It had been a very long nine days and finally the kids and I were well. I was healthy enough to see Becca and had been given clearance to drive. I was no longer dizzy.

The PICU had a circular desk, and different beds surrounded it. Off to the side with glass doors were the isolation rooms. One of them housed my Becca, who looked so tiny in the crib in such a big room. She was on oxygen, and they explained to me that she kept forgetting to breathe due to the RSV and pneumonia. The respiratory therapist gave her a treatment to help clear her lungs. She had a blood staph infection, her feedings were on hold, and they were giving her nutrition and fluid by IV. Her heart was in failure. Merry Christmas was far from my thoughts. Bah Humbug! This was not merry, not merry at all. I was dreading Christmas and I was feeling like Ebenezer Scrooge.

Startled out of my doldrums, Mary was standing in front of me saying hello. The nurses had called her to let her know I had arrived. She had something she needed me to sign. That’s all I had been doing, signing, and waiting, and hoping, and praying. Bah Humbug!

She took me to her office. I had no idea where her office was as she always brought the paperwork to me. She opened the door and picked up a large shopping bag. Her smile radiated. “Merry Christmas!” she exclaimed. The nurses had shopped for families who would be without for the holidays. They picked out a present for each one of my six kids. They even purchased the batteries for the remote control car for Nathan. They thought of everything. The bag contained a roll of wrapping paper, bows and even the tape. It’s nooks and crannies were filled with little treats – a box of candy canes and five chocolate Santa Clauses to peek out of the top of the stockings. Miracles really do happen and my wish had been granted. My kids would have Christmas.

Mary told me that the hospital employees often play Santa for families to make sure they would not face the holidays empty handed. She knew that if I were skipping meals to feed the children, there would be nothing for Christmas.

I returned to Becca’s isolation room. She was much too sick to be held. I savored a moment of calm and thankfulness. Slowly I was learning to savor tiny moments of peace and tranquility. I stayed by her side quietly reading before heading home with my miracle sack. I felt so thankful for the graciousness of these kind people. With my ritual kiss goodbye and whispering I love you, I prayed to her angels that she would be here when I returned.

My kids are notoriously nosy and I wanted to surprise them on Christmas morning. I rushed off to pick up Matt and Marissa at Mom’s and stashed the Christmas gifts before the older ones had a clue. While I had been sick, Mom had been busy and blessed us with another surprise. She had sewn Kristy and Marissa new Christmas dresses and my aunt had bought sweaters for the three boys. All my five kids would have new matching outfits to wear for Christmas.

Jim closed the store early on Christmas Eve and helped me dress the little kids for the Christmas Eve service. I told Jim my secret miracle and we smiled eye messages across the heads of our stair step sized children sitting between us in the church pew. We sang for the birth of baby Jesus and our hearts cried out for a Christmas miracle for Becca. After the service the kids played in the manger, Marissa and Matt rode the lifelike donkey proclaiming they were on their way to Bethlehem while I stared down at the tiny doll in the manger and said a quiet prayer for my little baby lying so far away, all alone, in a bed in the PICU. We needed hope in the midst of such incredible sorrow.

Mom invited us for cake and ice cream after the service, but I had other plans. Families are supposed to be together and I was not going to allow Becca to be alone on Christmas. We all went to the hospital to visit Becca, but only Kristy and I were able to go to PICU. Jim stayed with the other kids in the lobby while Kristy and I went to say Merry Christmas to Becca. Each child had made Becca a card and the nurse taped the cards to the wall above her bed. I hung Becca’s handmade stocking on the foot of her crib, putting on the Christmas music Kristy had recorded. I made a special Christmas wish, asking for a miracle for Becca. I left her again with a kiss on her feverish cheek and wished her a Merry Christmas and a very blessed goodnight. The walk from PICU to the lobby seemed endless, my heart heavy laden with grief, babies should be home with mommies and daddies on Christmas Eve.

Fresh snow had fallen, and instead of hurrying home on the freeway we meandered past the lighted mansions on Summit Avenue of St. Paul. We passed the Cathedral and the Governor’s manor. The children marveled at the beautifully decorated homes. Matt clapped his hands in joy, while the others argued over which house was the favorite. Ian and Kristy engaged in a competitive battle. Marissa’s face was lit up from the wonder of the lights and its beauty. The kids were enjoying the ride so much that we wound our way home through parks, and lakes, and residential streets for over an hour. It was peaceful and calming. The kids quieted and Matt fell asleep.

Scattered snowflakes were falling and Jim and I listened to the Christmas music playing from the radio. The radio DJ announced that Santa was spotted circling the globe, and Marissa and Ian excitingly questioned how he managed to get all the work done in one evening?

This explanation I left to Jim, it was his turn to try to satisfy his children’s curiosity. His eyes sparkled as he told them Santa was magic and can make anything happen if you only believe. It was a heavenly ride. I reached across the seat setting my hand on Jim’s knee. Jim’s answer had satisfied the children’s curiosity, and Kristy had caught my glare, playing along with the magic of the moment.

It was nearly midnight when we arrived home and the house was pitch black to save on electricity. As we pulled in the driveway, the mini van’s lights shone upon dark shadows lying near the door. Jim hopped out of the van to see what was going on. Then he summoned us as if it were nothing.

As I reached in the back seat to get sleeping Matt, the children shrieked, “Santa came! He came! Santa was already here!”

What were they talking about? I grabbed a confused, groggy Matt. There were nearly a dozen or so thirty-gallon black trash bags left sitting by our front door. Jim and the big kids carried in the bags.

The children tore open the plastic bags to discover dozens of wrapped presents with their names on them. It was blessed chaos. There were tons of groceries, toilet paper, and shampoo. Everything we were out of.  Kristy, Nathan and Ian were stacking the packages by the tree while Marissa and Matt played mountain climbers scaling the huge mounds of packages. Kristy screamed as she caught the tree from falling. Marissa narrowly escaped a plunge from the top of Gift Mountain. Our children were bouncing off the walls, but we finally convinced them that it wasn’t Christmas yet, and Santa required they open presents on Christmas morning like in The Night Before Christmas. They didn’t argue because we had just read the story.

Marissa wondered why Santa left them outside, instead of bringing them down the chimney. Ian, who always had an answer for everything, announced, “he had so much dummy; if he brought the bags down the chimney, he would get the chimney stopped up.” Kristy added “that the house was locked and he could not bring them in the door.” Finally they all scampered off to their rooms and soon were snuggled in beds dreaming of Christmas miracles.

Shortly after midnight the phone rang. It was the resident from PICU calling us to let us know Becca had turned the corner and they upgraded her status to stable. She was improving and was breathing easier so they had removed the ventilator; Becca was now breathing on her own and on supplemental oxygen! Becca was getting better! My Christmas prayers had been answered. And someone, some Santa somewhere had fulfilled my wishes. He or she arrived with bags of toys, and goodies, and groceries. My cupboards would no longer be bare. Jim and I had no means to provide for our family, yet someone, somewhere, knew our needs. I thanked the baby in the manger for this Christmas miracle.

Jim and I put away the much-needed groceries. Two turkeys, packages of hamburger and chicken went into the freezer. We put the canned goods on the shelves . . .apples and oranges, carrots and potatoes, and onions . . . bathroom and hygiene products. There were even a couple loaves of expensive rice bread. Whoever brought this Christmas miracle, had not forgotten anything. They had even picked up a double pack of diapers for Matt who was regressing from his potty training in his upside down life.

The real Christmas miracles were hidden in the tiny details. Buried deep in one of the bags I discovered a brand new pair of much needed white Reebok tennis shoes for me. They fit perfectly. We filled the stockings with candy and small gifts from the bags the kids had not seen. With the gifts from the hospital and the one from us for Nathan and Ian, we had more presents than we had ever imagined. Our room looked like a Hollywood movie Christmas morning scene. Where did all this come from?

Jim and I crawled into bed, hoping to get a few hours of sleep before the kids scrambled upon us to open their presents. They were tired from the late night and for the first time ever on Christmas morning; they slept until 8:00 A.M..

Kristy in her sweats and the little ones in their blanketed sleepers tore into the pile of packages. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, I lost count of the gifts they each received. Nathan screamed pulling out a pair of roller blades, the current hottest trend retailing at $l50 a pair. Who had done this? Ian soon discovered he had a pair too! Kristy found a boom box, a jewelry box, curling iron and music to play. Packages marked to the Yurcek family contained a VCR to replace the one that had been stolen when our house had been robbed and ransacked right before Becca’s birth. There were movies, games, books, colored markers, and art kits for each child. Even Becca was not forgotten. She got new clothes, a diaper bag, several new pink animals and more music. Marissa found a big package with a dollhouse and furniture. She was surrounded in pink heaven. Matt tunneled and laughed through the wrapping paper and boxes. We corralled him to open his presents, a big floppy eared dog, trucks, cars and a train track. The boys tried to set up their new remote control car racing set in the middle of the wrapping mess.

Jim was not to be forgotten and he discovered new socks, sweats, jeans and a belt. He handed me a tiny box from under the tree that he discovered while we were cleaning up and making sure all the tiny toy pieces were not thrown away with the mountain of boxes and wrapping paper. Inside was a solid sterling silver heart necklace with six tiny stones. The necklace was a reminder of hope, a mother’s heart with my six precious children. The six little diamonds sparkled in rainbow colors from our Christmas tree. It was bittersweet to look at as Becca’s heart was slowly failing. But I reminded myself that for today Becca was doing better, and this Christmas we had witnessed a true miracle. Some unknown Santa with a caring heart had done all this for us. But who, how, when?

No longer were our cupboards bare. The kids and I made a fresh fruit salad with real whipped cream. Kristy peeled the apples and Nathan chopped them along with slicing frozen strawberries. Marissa cut banana coins with a bread knife and Ian added one handful of marshmallows to his mouth before adding the next handful to the magical miracle bowl of Christmas fruit.

We dressed for Christmas dinner at my cousins. The family celebrated the day together with aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins. All were there but one, our Becca.

No longer would we be hungry again. We had food for the next month until our food stamp case opened. The kids had new toys to keep them occupied. We had warm clothing and mittens. I later discovered when our bills arrived, that some unknown Santa paid our phone bill, the utility bills, and our car insurance! We will be forever grateful for the gifts of that year, and we will never forget we witnessed a true Christmas miracle. I have from then on remembered to give back to others as you did for us. Thank you! What you did for us that year was unbelievable! You gave us the gift of hope and belief in miracles.

Buried in one of the bags of the hundreds of dollars in gifts we found a card, wishing us a “Merry Christmas and to all, and to all a good night. You are loved! Santa.”

Those were the same words whispered in tiny Becca’s ear ten days earlier. Was it connected?

Over the next few years, the miracles continued helping us when we needed it most. I tried to find who our anonymous Santa was but we never discovered the giver of the gifts. Whoever it was did not want to be found out. Maybe someday that person or persons will read my writing, and I will finally be able to thank her or him for our Christmas miracle and generosity.

Perhaps, we will never know.



Tiny Titan, One Small Gift is Part 1 of the hard copy publishing of Tiny Titan, Journey of Hope, a Mom's Choice Award Winner for Best Adult Non-Fiction and carries a 5 Star Dove Award.

Available at Amazon.com  

Learn More about Noonan Syndrome and other Rasopathy Spectrum Disorders 

Visit the Rasopathies Foundation.