Hi everyone, Sorry I've ebeen AWOL for awhile. Spring is always such a busy time. I've been trying to get the yard & gardens cleaned up. DH is expecting to start a new job in a couple of weeks, its suppose to pay about twice as much. He'll be driving OTR again with only one day home per week so we're trying to get stuff here taken care of beforehand (building GH, fixing stuff, etc).He gave his current job his 2 wk notice just 2 days ago and they called today letting him go (on his day off)! Now we're really hoping the new job is as good as it sounds!! I got the last of my WS potted yesterday. Out of 160+ jugs there were only about 15-20 that didn't sprout...not bad I guess for my first WS attempt. I'm waiting for my BIL to till my new gardens so I can plant stuff...alot of my potted seedlings have bloomed! Bluebonnets, Lacy Phacelia, and Nasturtiums of every color! I hope they're still blooming by the time I get them in the gardens! Kym, thanks for sending the May list in advance! At least I won't get behind on that! LOL I'm fine with recieving emails from forum members...sounds like you have an interesting game up your sleeve. Count me in! I hope all April Bday buddies are having a wonderful BDay month!!!!! Chell

My apple cake with the gravy, because it is very heavy with apples is not good as a layer cake, doesn't cut well and with 4 cups of apples, it's heavy!. But it is spectacular as a 9 by 12 cake....with gravy on each square....passed warm in a pitcher....with maybe a small scoop of vanilla ice cream....and the "gravy" over the top. You can probably cut 16 pieces out of one cake....but....it's also very good for breakfast!! I have used this one for a layered birthday cake....with a caramel frosting...or maybe a burnt sugar....I forget. I cut back a little on the nutmeg....I think 1 tsp is a bit much and for a layer cake, that recipe makes 2 8 inch layers. And I always use my own applesauce. When I am making applesauce, I reserve a cup and make this cake. Cake, Applesauce, mine 1 egg beaten 1/2 cup shortening�I use butter 1 cup of sugar 1 cup cold unsweetened applesauce 1 3/4 cups AP flour 1 tsp soda 3/4 tsps salt 1 tsp nutmeg 1 1/2 tsps cinnamon 1/4 tsp powdered cloves 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup raisins and nuts cut up�optional Sift together, flour soda, salt and spices Cream shortening, beat in sugar, beat in the egg and the applesauce and vanilla�.add the flour etc and pour into a greased 8 � by 11 pan and bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes�.until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

ima, I came across this article the other day. ============= Many unwanted behaviors, including some that disturb parents, tend to drop out on their own, especially if you don't overreact to them and reinforce them with a great deal of excited attention. Take thumb sucking, which is quite common up to age 5. At that point it drops off sharply and continues to decline. Unless the dentist tells you that you need to do something about it right now, you can probably let thumb sucking go. The same principle applies for most stuttering. Approximately 5 percent of all children stutter, usually at some point between ages 2 and 5. Parents get understandably nervous when their children stutter, but the vast majority of these children (approximately 80 percent) stop stuttering on their own by age 6. If stuttering persists past that point or lasts for a period extending more than six months, then it's time to do something about it. There are a lot more behaviors, running the range from annoying to unacceptable, in this category. Approximately 60 percent of 4- and 5-year-old boys can't sit still as long as adults want them to, and approximately 50 percent of 4- and 5-year-old boys and girls whine to the extent that their parents consider it a significant problem. Both fidgeting and whining tend to decrease on their own with age, especially if you don't reinforce these annoying behaviors by showing your child that they're a surefire way to get your (exasperated) attention. Thirty to 40 percent of 10- and 11-year-old boys and girls lie in a way that their parents identify as a significant problem, but this age seems to be the peak, and the rate of problem lying tends to plummet thereafter and cease to be an issue. By adolescence, more than 50 percent of males and 20 percent to 35 percent of females have engaged in one delinquent behaviortypically theft or vandalism. For most children, it does not turn into a continuing problem. ============= Apparently, (if this article was accurate) your SD is just hitting 'peak lying years', so, well, you may have a rough couple years ahead of you, and her mom's example certainly can't help, but she's also probably not doomed to grow up into a pathological liar, she may just be at 'that age'.

I know that but it's no fun to see her drag her kids into it. I'd love to grab her, shake her or pound her head against a wall and yell "look what you are doing to your kids!!" " Don't you care????" and I know that I can't. Her relationship with her kids is her business but it doesn't make it any easier to watch. If she had called me, that's one thing. But, she involves SD by asking me through her daughter and she does that a lot. She's also got SD very excited about the wedding and SD brings it up frequently. I could be wrong, but I believe she has created a fantasy in SD's mind that everything will be wonderful when she marries BF... they'll be a family & she can go live there with them, etc. but that isn't going to happen. The craziest part of all, she HATES when SD and I get along. (more insecurity about that) but the more she ignores SD, as time goes on, SD turns to me more & more. I not only spend more time with SD, but I talk to her, I listen to her and even though she has an attitude with me, she knows she can count on me when she needs me. As she is realizing that, she has less attitude with me and we are actually becoming closer because of the way BM treats her. That only upsets BM even more, but instead of giving SD more attention, she has chosen to give less time & attention. It's really sad all the way around. I've also noticed other things she does to mimic our (DH & me) life. We ride ATV's, she went out & bought new ATV's for everyone last Christmas. We went to San Francisco for a weekend, she was going to do the same. We have an SUV, she went out and bought an SUV as soon as she moved there, even though her BF has a mini van that would accommodate all of them. She already had a new truck that her mom repossessed a few weeks ago. We've gone on a few cruises & now she's talked of wanting to take a family cruise. It's really humorous at times. She has no job, her BF's motorcycle & his kids dirt bikes were repossessed, her mom took back the truck she signed for because BM wasn't making the payments, they are about to be evicted & she can't or won't pay the $216 a month in support or any of the medical bills, but she is planning a grand wedding & all these trips. I think it's all in her head & she wants to create an illusion that she has a perfectly wonderful life. I'm not sure if she sees reality slapping her in the face... or if she just pretends it isn't happening. It will go away?