sparks...i agree.

I work full time am active in my 12 step program and i am raising a 14 year old on a budget.  Believe me when i tell you...there are pot pies, corn dogs and a few frozen burritos in my freezer.  There is alot of other stuff too, but i do NOT cook every night.  My son doesnt like vegetables and loves macaroni and cheese, what can i say?  I think i am a pretty good mom.

Jewels   Same here,  I love pot pies and frequently get microwave food.  lol   Oh and hey, I worked on staff at a rehab house in Los Angeles for about a year and talked on panels as well.  I am very PRO 12 steps, even made an alternative12 Step site online that is so popular I can't take it down even if I wanted to.  lol  

I think you are a good mom too.  

I agree healthy food tends to be more expensive actually some of it is outrageous!!! And i dont think giving your child corn dogs or burritos is a bad thing if used occassionally. Childhood obesity is on the rise in this country and somethings needs to change for example cheaper nutrious food!!!

eek...fresh veggies arent too expensive, or fruit.  The organic healthy food is expensive.  You can still get chicken cheap and take the skin off.  If you are a thrifty shopper like i am you can get alot for your money.  If I had $250 a month in food stamps i could make it last me 3 months if i had to.

Jewels I have no idea what goes through her head sometimes, She thinks the world owes her and she doesnt care how she uses the money she gets... She is also a perscription addict, she takes more pills in a day than i have taken in my entire lifetime.So her mind is elsewhere and not thinking ( to say the least).  I honestly do not know why i stay friends with her or even talk to her anymore. I guess it is because i hope someday she will be back mentally. Welfare also has to look at legal drug use as well as illegal drug use. I have another friend who just got off all of her pills she had a pill for everything under the sun and it was all paid for by medi-cal. And none of it she needed except one. But she felt she needed it and she felt she couldnt live without it. So there is another side of drug use and it is perscription addicts.

Also i have been taught to be a "bargain" shopper.. My mom had 9 mouths to feed ( 7 kids and 2 adults) and she made things that would make 2 meals. And vegetables are easy to add to a kids menu.. I make special Jell-o for my son and it is loaded with vegetables and he doesnt know it. As a parent i try to set good examples for my children and provide them with nutrious food and occassionally we have junk food just as a treat..

And i agree with lotsoluv we should track how some people spend their child support money . I havent gotten a dime from my sons father in 15 years and would of loved to have it to spend on his needs. Deadbeat parents is another touchy subject, i wish we could post their pictures on the internet and in papers, kinda like a beware sign!! lol

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and A Happy New year!!!!

I completly agree jewels an addict is an addict....

Deadbeat dads and moms are a HUGE problem and there should be some way we can warn other women/men of them. My x went and had 3 more children on top of mine. Him and his girlfriend lived on welfare the entire time neither one of them worked. And their favorite pasttime was drugs and beating up eachother and visiting jails. My son did get to meet his 1/2 brother and sisters a few times through his biological fathers parents ( they ended up cutting him out of their lives i think it is because my son is not normal and they cant handle that).

But deadbeat dads/moms should have some exposure and should face more serious consequences ( cant spell) than what they currently do. any  man/woman can make a baby but it takes a "REAL" man/woman to take care of the child. I also feel that the district attorney's need to more efficient in finding these deadbeat parents. When my x left my son at 9 months old i went to the d.a. and gave a complete address, phone number and where his parents lived and all other info and the d.a. could never find him, so i never got a dime and i havent gotten a dime in 15 years. And honestly if i did get child support he would want to see my son and there is no way on God's green earth i would allow that.... and that is because of his track record with drugs and being abusive.