Applesauce is like the trick of all trade master of none! You can substitute the oil in your favorite recipe with applesauce. For egg allergys (or if you just ran out like me most the time) applesauce can replace the eggs. Applesauce also gives a sweeter flavor when used so for famous oatmeal cake with broiled frosting, now you have sugar and spice with everything nice in it.  I buy applesauce by the case. My kids eat it as a snack after school. Its also my fail proof back up plan when I need my kids to get some nutrition at the dinner table because they refuse to eat their peas.
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Dear Jackson,

At 5 years of age I know that you are not going to understand what mommy is saying and I know you might not even understand at 25 but mommy needs to tell you how much I love you and how sorry I am for some mistakes I made. See Jackson mommy didn’t understand when you were screaming and angry all the time that you were just trying to tell me that you loved me. Jackson mommy didn’t know that a hook meant a fork and that when we sat down to eat dinner you needed that green fork and yellow plastic plate every time. And that favorite red shirt that you had to wear every day, I didn’t realize how important it was to you. And when mommy would hold your head to make you look at me buddy I know you were listening, you just didn’t like looking mommy in the eyes. And buddy I’m sorry I didn’t let you hold or play with you baby sister more mommy knows now that you love her and would never hurt her intentionally.

Jackson mommy is sorry for being so angry all the time, I just didn’t understand how to make you happy. I am sorry for locking you in your room because mommy was so frustrated she needed a time out. I am sorry for turning my back to you because I just didn’t know what you needed. Jackson mommy is sorry for keeping you from the family who loved you because mommy couldn’t handle the disruption that came with your behavior. And Jackson that mean lady that lived next door and always said you were a bad boy, buddy she was wrong, she was a bad girl. Jackson I’m sorry for feeling at times as though I didn’t like you because mommy does love you so much. And buddy I’m sorry for over protecting you when I know what a big boy you are and just want to be like the other kids. Jackson mommy needs to tell you thank you. You have made me such a better person. You have taught mommy how to accept, how to hope and how to believe because even though you are only 5 years old your life has already touched so many others. Jackson I love you.

(Editors note: my son was diagnosed with autism when he 4 years old. For the years previous to that date I struggled with every aspect of his life. I thought I was dealing with terrible twos and horrible threes. As I look back now there were so many signs and more guilt than I could ever imagine. Parents if you have even the slightest though that something is different than expected trust your instinct and get help don’t be afraid. I had to learn the skills necessary to help Jackson, these skills don’t come naturally, you have to know what you dealing with before you can make the adjustments necessary to deal with it! We had to learn how to make our home a happier place for Jackson and for our family.)
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Are You Living or Dying on a Budget? I am such a simple person. Unless something interests me I really don’t like putting much effort into it. My household budget is defiantly something that doesn’t interest me and although I spent more time than I would like focusing on it, I don’t put a lot of effort into determining it. I follow a basic 60 – 40 principle. Yep I’m that simple. OK it is a bit more complex but I am going to make it simple.

• 60% of NET earnings go toward Housing and bills (30% housing and 30% bills) – you know the roof over our head

• 30% of NET earnings go toward Household Living – food in our belly, the occasional 12 pack of coke, and soap to wash off the dirt my kids collect
• 10% of NET earnings go toward Savings (5% short term and 5% long term) – this really doesn’t apply to me because I can’t save a dime, if money is there and the bills have been paid my philosophy is spend it!! On occasion I have been known to spend it even when the bills have not been paid just to irritate my husband and comfort myself.

Now that’s simple! Let me give an example:

Total Monthly Net Income $2,000:

60% or $1200 towards housing and bills – 30% or $600 towards household living – 10% or $200 towards savings

Now let me break it down a bit more by category:

Housing and Bills (60% of NET income):

30% would go towards mortgage/rent payment and home insurance and taxes. 30% would go towards all the other bills like car payment (none here we believe in torturing our children with the ugliest cars purchased in full at the cheapest price just to watch them dive to the floorboard whenever we drive by someone they know), utilities, phone, credit card, loans, health insurance etc.

Household Living (30% of NET income):

This area covers food, toiletries, kids allowance (we often borrow against this with high interest rate with a long term repayment plan), auto-fuel (only because my husband refuses to ride his bike the 20 miles each day to work which I do not understand why because he did it when he was a small boy, in the snow, 100 below, uphill both ways). MEN!! And anything else we feel is a necessity in our life (trips to Vegas to gamble do not fall into this category).

Savings (10% of NET income):

5% would go towards short term – like car breakdowns, an unexpected trip to the ER twice in 1 week, new couch from the thrift store because the red punch stain just won’t come out or a small shopping spree on chocolate and beef jerky because mom has had a real bad day! (This expense pops up a lot in my household).

5% would go towards long term – like the 5 weddings we really should be saving for, college education that my older children refuse to use just to spite me or the purchase of a bus as our van isn’t big enough to car-pull my children and all their friends around because they believe that is my only job in this world and of course charitable donations such as our banks nsf fee’s. We seem to contribute more than 5% at times but as long as we are doing our part in bettering the banking industry I sleep better at night knowing I give to such a good cause.

For a complete breakdown of the expenses in each category check out http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/BudgetformN.html. This is a free printable form to help get you started. This site also has great information and additional forms to help taking your budgeting to the next level. There are a lot of sites and articles out there for home budgeting if you are looking for a more advanced technique than mine. Check my links page for additional resources.
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