Crock Pot Potato Soup.

We love potato soup, it's filling and hearty and oh soooo good!


WHAT YOU WILL NEED.
Potatoes
Butter
Milk OR Heavy Cream
Salt
Pepper
Onions
Bacon
Shredded Cheese
Saltine Crackers
Water


Chop or slice/dice your potatoes, however many you think you will need, you can do one potato per person. Chop one whole onion, put it in with the potatoes.

I used red Potatoes this time, you can use ANY kind.

   Add water about 4 cups to potatoes/onions. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours OR High  3-5 hours. During the last hour add 3-4cups of milk. You can also mash some of the potatoes if you don't want big chunks in your soup. Remember some of the water cooks out so your crock pot is not holding 8 cups of liquid!!! Add salt,Butter and pepper to taste.




Add chopped cooked bacon or Turkey bacon as a topping.



 Add shredded cheese and Serve with saltine Crackers.

                                  Easy as pie!

Case of the missing Glaze. This could happen to your Family!!!

It's Friday, Some Friday's we order pizza which is what we did. I got the usual, plain cheese for the kiddos, pepperoni with extra cheese for the rest of us, bread sticks and of course you got to have wings!! I thought i would live a little and throw in some cinnamon sticks. Everything arrived looking yummy we ate our pizza, the kids played for a little bit then it was time for Cinnamon sticks......Only when i opened the box there was NO GLAZE. Who eats cinnamon anything without glaze? Its like Thanksgiving without the turkey, Christmas without presents, Bonnie without Clyde, Thelma without Louise, Milk and cookies without the Milk!!! You get the picture?

This was a travesty, so off i went to the pantry to see if i had the stuff to whip up some fast and easy glaze. This could happen to your family and being the nice person i am "ahem" here is what i came up with,

2 cups of Powdered Sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1teaspoon water (not sure if this is really neccessary but it's what i threw in)
1 tabelspoon Milk

Mix, with an electric mixer (i tried by hand at first to no avail) all the ingrediants except the milk. Then add your milk, i know i said 1 tablespoon but add enough to make it thick to your liking.

Im thinking you could put OJ in it for orange glaze if you wanted.

Trying to show the thickness.

Now thats Cinnamon Sticks!

Our Best Friend.

Nick

My Brother was born with Cerebral Palsy, He lives with us by his own choosing. I think for him it was kind of like leaving the nest and having more independence when he decided not to live with our mom. As hard as his decision was for her she let him make the choice because more often than not in his life choices are made for him. I love having him here, i wouldn't trade it for anything on earth.

My kids are Two and Five And i have often thought about if they even notice their Uncle is different. We had a conversation about him tonight and i have come to the conclusion that they don't notice because in my two year old's words "Him is like us".Why would they notice? to them he is just Uncle Nick same as he has always been they dont know him any other way. Im so thankful. I wanted to share Our conversation.

Beetlebee (my 5 year old) said to me "Mom i love uncle Nick, he always lets me play with his stuff"

LadyBug (my two year old) "Meee too mommy! Mee too i wuv hims too!"

 

I am so glad you love your Uncle! I love him too!



Nick With LadyBug, She was about three months here.



Beetlebee "Uncle Nick is your brother"

Yes he is my big brother.

Beetlebee "How come you can do more things , im sissys big brother but i do more things than her"

Well because Uncle Nick needs help sometimes. Even though im his little sister i help him because i love him. Uncle Nick was Born with something called Cerebral Palsy, some things are harder for him and thats why we help him.

Nick with Beetlebee, He was around 1 year.

Beetlebee "He helps us, he plays with us, and he likes the same movies we do and he is funny and silly"

I know, he is a good playmate Mommy used to play with him just like you play with sissy.

Ladybug "I wuv Uncle Nick"

Beetlebee "Sometimes when he gets sick i come and tell you"

I know you do, that is very helpful.

Beetlebee "will he always be our Uncle?"

Yes he will Always always be your uncle.

Ladybug helping Nick blow out his birthday candles on his 27th Birthday.

Beetlebee " How old is Uncle nick?"

27

Beetlebee "Sometimes he gets mad at me when i go in his room"

Dont you get mad if sissy goes in your room and messes with things when you are not in there?

Beetlebee "Yes"

Well thats why Uncle Nick gets mad at you when you do that.

Beetlebee and his Uncle Nick

Beetlebee "Oh" Uncle Nick walks so funny"

Ladybug "Him walks like me"

Beetlebee "walking funny is fun"

Ladybug "Yeah! I wuv it"

Beetlebee " Can uncle nick come to my class?"

Why do you want him to come to your class?

Beetlebee "Because i dont think anybody in my class has a uncle like mine and he can play with us and everybody will think he is cool"

Ladybug "i wanna go too!"

Beetlebee "I always wanted a uncle like him"

Ladybug "Mee too mommy me too!"

Arent we so lucky to have him? You know before i had you two Uncle Nick would say "When you have babies im gonna be the uncle nick!" I think he always wanted to be your Uncle too!

Beetlebee " I really do love him mom He's my Best friend"

Ladybug "Mee too mommy! I weally weally weally Wuv hims too! Him is my favowite friend"



I do too, I really really really Love him too! My bestfriend since the day i was born.



My Brother and I



A FRIEND LIKE ME

Please don't be afraid of me

I want to be your friend.

And if you get to know me

Your rigid thoughts might bend

Thoughts that I am different

From others that you know,

I really am no different

And this I'd like to show



I live and breathe and laugh and cry

I love to play and learn,

I sometimes do things differently

Which can cause some concern



You see, some say I'm special

I guess this much is true,

But if you were to ask me

I'd say you're special too



We're all a little different

No two are just the same,

It's really something wonderful

that way there is no blame



When things don't go just perfectly

And others get confused,

And say things like "poor child"

and other terms they use



It's okay if you look at me

And might not understand,

It's okay if you touch me

And even hold my hand



My life has many obstacles

Much more than you could know,

But that's not what I dwell on

I'm me, that's all, and so...



Please don't be afraid of me

I want you just to see,

How truly great and wonderful

A friend like me can be

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                               

Easy Apple Dumplings

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

5 Apples, Peeled and quartered

1 can of Biscuits (you can use homemade biscuit dough if you want)
1 cup of Sugar
1 Stick Margarine
1 1/2 cup of water

Cinnamon

 

Grease Baking Dish. Halve each Biscuit. Wrap each Quartered apple with Biscuit. Place in 9 x 13 dish. Melt sugar, margarine and water. Pour over biscuit wrapped apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and Brown sugar on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brown.

Parmesan Ranch Roll-ups

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
4 (8 or 9 inch) Flour Tortillas
1/2 Cup Ranch Salad Dressing
1/4 Cup Diced Onion
2 cups of Shredded Lettuce
1 (13oz) Can chunk ham,chicken or Turkey. Drained. (Our fave is chicken)

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

For each wrap, spread 2 tablespoons Ranch dressing over the entire surface of each tortilla. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons Onions. Place 1/2 cup lettuce in center. Place 1/4 cup meat on top of lettuce. Fold in two opposite sides of tortilla, about 1 1/2 inches, and roll up from the bottom.

Makes about 4 servings (Perfect for lunch!)

Almost Fat-Free Cornbread

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2 Cups Self-rising Cornmeal
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 egg
1 to 2 tbsp Sugar


Combine all Ingredients in a large mixing Bowl. Whisk together until dry Ingredients are well Moistened. Pour Into well-Greased heavy skillet for 20-30 minutes at 425 OR well greased Muffin pan for 20 minutes at 425.

Lemon Pecan Bread

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2 cups Sugar ( What can i say? we like the sweet stuff around here!)
2/3 cup Melted butter
4 Eggs
3 cups Sifted flour

2 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Salt

1 cup Whole Milk

Grated rind of TWO lemons

5 tsp Lemon extract

1 cup Chopped Pecans

Preheat Oven to 350. Grease Loaf pans. Blend Sugar, melted butter and extract. Beat in Eggs. Sift DRY ingredients together and add alternately with milk. Stir just enough to blend. FOLD in other Ingredients and pour into loaf pans.

BAKE 1 hour at 350.

When bread is done, pierce with a fork and drizzle with warm glaze

For the Glaze: Mix juice of 2 Lemons and 1/2 cup of Sugar heat to dissolve.

STORE in airtight wrap for 24 hours before slicing.

 Makes two 8 x 4 inch loaves or three 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch loaves.

You can freeze this bread for up to 3 months!!!

Cajun Chicken Strips

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1Tbsp. Flour
1tsp.Poultry seasoning
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp.pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lb Chicken strips, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 Tbsp Butter


Combine First SIX Ingredients in a large resealable bag (Zip lock bag's are fine): Add chicken strips a few pieces at a time and shake to coat. In a large skillet cook the strips in butter for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Go ahead and give Bo Jangles a run for their Money!!!

Strawberry Cream Punch

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1qt. 14oz. Pineapple Juice, Chilled
3/4 Cup Sugar
6oz. Can Frozen pink lemonade (Unthawed)
2 1/4 Cup Water
1 qt. Strawberry Ice Cream
2 1/2 qt. Ginger Ale


In a punch Bowl, Add all Ingredients EXCEPT Ginger Ale. Mix Well, THEN add Ginger Ale. Mix and serve at once!

Simple Fruit Dip

My Kids Love this fruit dip, It's fast, easy and goes well with just about any fruit.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
  1 package 8oz Cream Cheese Softened
  1/2 Cup Firmly packed Brown Sugar
  1/2 Tsp Vanilla Flavoring

  BLEND
    Blend the cream cheese in a small bowl with your electric mixer on MEDIUM speed Until Creamy. Add BROWN SUGAR and VANILLA beat until well blended

Spoon into a bowl. Serve with Apple slices, Grapes...whatever fruit your heart desires!

Chocolate Buttermilk Pie!

Today i noticed my recipe book overflowing with random pieces of paper, Recipes that i have gathered from different people and some I've made up myself. I love to know how food is made. Don't put it past me to ask someone at a restaurant "hey how do you guys make this?" Or "I bet i can make this" and the classic "I can make this AND i can make it better!" Why should i keep all these recipes all to myself? Everyone loves good food and I'm going to share it with you!

First up My fave pie of all time: Chocolate Buttermilk Pie. (If you are afraid of sugar  you may want to avert your eyes)

My grandmother used to make the BEST buttermilk pies this is her recipe. Being the chocolate lover i am i had to throw in some chocolate and the result is divine!

PREHEAT the oven at 325

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

     2 Premade Pie crusts (they normally come two a pack in the freezer section)

     1 Bag semi sweet Chocolate chips

     7 Eggs

     1 Cup of Buttermilk

     2 1/2 Cups of Sugar (Told ya!)

     Pinch of salt

     1 Teaspoon Vanilla Flavoring

 Go ahead and put your pie crusts in the oven at 325 so they can brown a little while you blend.

 MELT The Chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals.

 BLEND

   In a large bowl (and by large i mean LARGE you will have alot of mix)

    Blend the EGGS,BUTTERMILK,SUGAR, SALT, MELTED CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA FLAVORING

   The mix is supposed to be watery.

 

 Pour the mix into the pie crusts and BAKE at 325 for 1hr.

  The tops of the pies do crack it's normal dont freak out! This is not about looks here!

Top with whipped topping or serve with Ice Cream! Yum Yum!

     

    

Superhero

It's been almost a year since my son was diagnosed with ADHD. He's always been very energetic even in the womb. He was kicker and roller. He still is and he is now Five years old. I always had an inkling that something was different even when people all around me were telling me "oh it's just a boy thing or he will grow out of it" But a Mother knows. A mother knows her child better than she knows herself, she recognizes every little emotion that flickers across their face. She knows when they are hurt and not just physically.

I went through denial, i had all these dreams of what my son would be like, How effortlessly smart he would be, everything would come easy to him i thought, he was going to be different than i was. Different he is and he is Smart, he always surprises me with something he does or says. Things dont come easy though, it's hard. He tries so hard and i am so proud of him. When he gets discouraged it breaks my heart because i know he is capable, i just wish HE knew that as well as i do. He doesn't understand why he it's harder to sit still,harder to be quiet and harder to focus. I wont say CANT because i know he CAN it's just harder.

When he first started medication the very first time i gave him his pill he looked up at me so curious and asked 'mommy when will i get better?". The pang i felt in my heart almost took me to my knees. I had to get it together and i told him that he wasn't sick he just needs a lil extra help calming down because he was blessed with soooo much energy and the rest of us just cant keep up, and it will take lots of hard work but i know we can do it! That was a good enough answer for him but not for me, i wanted to know what to do to help him and i wanted to know EVERYTHING. I wanted to be sure there was nothing i had not already tried. I want to give him every chance.

I did research i read article after article, i read the side effects of his medications a million times. When the first medication he was on made him lose too much weight, he wasn't his happy self and it made him have a rapid heartbeat. Seeing him strapped to a table, terrified with wires on him so his heart could be checked was when i started thinking 'Is this even worth it?" I wanted to cry with him right then and there because i was terrified too but it was just he and i in the doctors office that day and i had to keep it together for him. I had him taken off that medication immediately, NOTHING on this earth is worth putting my child's life at risk.

We have found a new medication and it's given us a happy medium, he is happy, his heart is good and he can focus. I hope it stays this way. He has made leaps and bounds in school. He won the builder award at his preschool graduation and he is a master at puzzles. To me that is amazing because both of those things require patience and focus. His teacher was amazing, during one of our first meetings she said something that stays with me still" He didn't ask for all his energy, he didn't ask for it to be hard to focus, We cant blame the victim here, we can only do everything we can to help him be the best he can be" and with that i knew she was on our side. I wasn't a lone warrior in this fight to free my son from the ties that binded him. Or was it the ties that binded us? Maybe......Maybe it's us, he has to learn to live with us, US, people that don't have as much energy as he does.

My son has said " i feel like a superhero!!" as he runs through the living room bouncing on my couch cushions. I wonder where did this superhuman energy come from? Is this a curse? A blessing? Evolution? Whatever it is i want him to use it for good. His favorite superhero is Spider Man and Peter Parker's grandfather tells him "With Great Power comes great responsibility" So for my son "With great energy comes great responsibility" Responsibility to know when to use it and when not. Responsibility for me as a mother to help him live with his ADHD. To Help US live with his ADHD.

I don't ever want my son to feel out of place or different, He knows he is one of a kind as we all are right? He's my baby boy, my only son. My little guy. As his mother i want him to know that when things get hard for him i will always be there as long as I'm alive, when he gets frustrated i don't want him to give up because i will never give up on him. He will be everything he is meant to be and he will be the best at whatever it is. If i have to fight through hell and raging waters he WILL be. There is no other option.

I know i cant always fight his fights for him, or always make things easier on him but if there is something i can do, you can bet your last dollar that i will do it, I will do it for my baby.

                                                        
It’s like a storm
That cuts a path
It’s breaks your will
It feels like that
You think your lost
But your not lost on your own
Your not alone
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you’ve done all you can do
If you can’t cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I wont let go
It hurts my heart
To see you cry
I know it’s dark
This part of life
Oh it finds us all
And we’re too small
To stop the rain
Oh but when it rains
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you’ve done all you can do
And you can’t cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight

And I wont let you fall
Don’t be afraid to fall
I’m right here to catch you
I wont let you down
It wont get you down
Your gonna make it
Yea I know you can make it
Cause I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you’ve done all you can do
And you can’t cope
And I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I wont let go
Oh I’m gonna hold you
And I wont let go
Wont let you go
No I wont
Rascal Flatts – I Won’t Let Go Lyrics

The Bonus Kid

The other day i mentioned to someone that My kids really missed Hadley when she wasn't here, Hadley is my boyfriends 10 year old daughter and he gets her every other weekend. I'm not naming any names here but the other person said to me "that is so weird, i don't think i would miss my boyfriends daughter i think i would like having just MY kids around i mean it would feel intrusive like if i have a routine with my own kids then have to change it up for someone Else's kid would really bother me, i could never be with someone who already had kids with someone else" So i sat for awhile after that trying to find the punch line in it and when i couldn't i felt really bad for that other person. I felt bad because maybe they don't have an open heart, maybe they only feel  that way because they don't know the joy a "bonus kid can bring" I mean i didn't have to carry her for 9 months, i didn't have to give birth to her i didn't have to spend sleepless nights caring for her as a newborn but i have respect for the woman that did because i know about those days from my own two kids and i thank her for raising an amazing young lady.

The first year with Hadley was hard i was trying to do everything i could to make sure she liked me and be sure i didn't step on any ones toes, As a mother to a son who has a stepmother i know what it's like to worry about how this other woman is treating your kid. So i know it's not really my place to "mother" Hadley i can be her friend and i can look out for her and want whats best for her, that's all i can rightfully offer. At first i would tell my boyfriend i love her because i love you, but that is not true as these years have flown by i can say that i love her because of who she is, she is the best big sister i could have ever asked for my kids.

When i was pregnant with my daughter i was worried Hadley would be jealous, she was the only girl "daddy's little girl" and i didn't want her to feel like this new little person would take her place. Even though Hadley wanted a little sister so badly she even made me a card before we found out the sex of our baby that said "It's a girl" That card is now in my daughter's baby box. When my daughter was born i was so surprised by Hadley the second she walked in the door and saw her little sister for the first time it was love. She wanted to be around her all the time she wanted to help take care of her, she wanted to take her home with her lol.

My son who drives her up the wall every chance he gets mentioned that he wished she were here so she would jump on the trampoline with him, i said well when she is here you two fight sometimes" and he said "but mom she is my best friend" and that she is, in my sons journal from school there was a picture of him and his best friend playing with cars and under the picture it said "me and Hadley". So i thought what if i were like that other person who said they could never be with someone who already had a child, my son wouldn't have a best friend, my daughter wouldn't have her big sister and i wouldn't have someone who likes the same reality shows that i do during the summer. I know that seems silly i mean she is only 10 so maybe that means she is wise beyond her years OR that i need to change my taste in TV shows lol!

She is growing up, she is into boys now and texts on her phone and gets annoyed when i bug her about it. I know that someday my own daughter will go through those changes and it will break my heart just like it breaks a little piece of my heart now with Hadley because it doesn't stop all kids grow up and it goes by so fast. It pains me to see them growing up so fast but it would kill me if they didn't get the chance to. So i count my blessings and I'm thankful for all the screaming matches, for all the rolled eyes, for all the doors slammed, for all the huffing and puffing when i tell them to clean their rooms/ change their clothes/ share a toy/ and go to bed.

I fully expect for Hadley to be horrified at this post and it just makes me want to publish it even faster :-)

So I'll leave you with this.......... "While we try to teach Children all about life, Children teach us what life is all about"

Words of Wisdom!!

Where on earth did you find those fortune cookies you were eating in bed this moring when i came to wake you up for school?


Whose poop is this in the hallway?

Stop picking your nose

Stop picking eachothers nose

Ok just pick your own nose!!

I need to dust now where are those babywipes?

Why are you being so quiet...What did you do?

Stop using your diaper as a pocket get those crackers and gummy worms out of there!

Your hair is NOT a napkin!

MY hair is NOT your napkin!

The couch is NOT a trampoline!

The bed is NOT a trampoline!

I am NOT a trampoline!

We do NOT eat things we find under the couch!

Throwing things in the toilet and seeing if they flush or NOT is NOT a game!

If i have to tell you to eat your dinner again i will melt all the ice cream in the world with my mind!

I really hope thats chocolate on your face!

I really hope thats chocolate on your hands!

I really hope what you just shoved in my mouth is Chocolate!

Where is your other sock?

Why are you looking in the toilet for your other sock?

When i tuck you in bed and shut the door behind me it does NOT mean it's time to break out the disco ball,lasers and pyro to have a wild party and chug your sippy cup.

I just heard a loud bang where is your sister?

I just heard a loud bang where is your Brother?

I just heard a loud bang where is the dog?

When i say mommy needs a timeout you do not have to bring me the timer!

Throwing the dogs toys on top of the ceiling fan then turning it on and watching them fly around the room is NOT a game!

You cannot save snowballs under your pillow for future use!

Is the sippy cup your sister has in her mouth the one she lost last week?

Toothpaste is not to be used as glue... EVER!

We do NOT put the dog in the oven of your toy kitchen!

BTW We do NOT put the dog in ANY oven ....EVER!!

Dont sneeze on the wall just to hear your snot splatter!

No matter what you hear your daddy say he did NOT pay money to a man in a cheetah print coat and cowboy hat to get mommy!

No matter what you kids do Mommy will always love you!