Greys and The Middle

Did you watch Greys Anatomy finale last night? ... HOLY crap.. it was the most intense 2 hours on tv... holy COW... I cried, I had chest pain.. and even Todd said that was the best ever episode ever. Very clever... very good lead up to! I like that they didnt leave too big of a cliffhanger but enough to make us want to watch again next season!

So what is this couch tator going to do now that a lot of my shows have had their finale's ;)

Have you seen the new show this season called The Middle? If not.. go see if you can hulu some of the episodes its a neat little show that Ive gotten to really like! It is really a lot kinda like my life.. kinda like Rosanne hahaa.. Its pretty crazy and funny.. and human.
So... not much going on today.. bored out of my mind at work. I cant work on the books because the computer is down and my work is caught up. Calm before the billing storm in June I guess. Im flipping through scrapping blogs, hoping I have enough time this weekend to create some Graduation/Birthday and Fathers day cards. This weekend is also the last soccer game. Whew.. what a season. I think he had a total of 4 games, it was just a crappy soccer season.. and his coach blew! Oh well, always next year. ;) Im also going to research some things for us to do on our vacation. Looks like we are taking the 3rd week in June.. and traveling towards Kentucky! Woot woot.. I cant wait. :)

Oh small update on Preston. He is loving Police Academy!!! He passed his PT test and was 13th out of a class of 64 so not bad!!! He has another test today and another on Tuesday that he is pretty worried about. I know he'll be fine. He was telling me he got gravel in his hand because they were doing this exercise where they crawled on their hands and knees across a parking lot.. OUCH!!! Poor kiddo! But he said he is NOT going to let something little like that get to him. Im so happy he is strong willed.. Id have cried. hehee ;) Its good to know that he is happy with what he is doing. Makes this Mommas heart feel better!

Have a great weekend!

Blog slump fixer upper!

I think I'll try out Amies blog slump fixer upper tag... read the questions, then type your answers into Google images-put one of the image representations on your blog.

Age at next birthday: 43Lovin' the pink... maybe I'll have a pink themed birthday party this year! Fun!

Place I'd most like to visit: Riviera MayaFavorite place: With MY 3 boys {I just borrowed these 3 from Google} heheThese guys are pretty darn cute though.. hehee ;)
Favorite object: Nail polishDont know if its my ALL time fav... but I love to paint my nails and toenails!

Favorite food: TamalesFavorite color: GreenFavorite pet: My Dog Ruby {cairn terrier borrowed from Google}Name of last pet: Pete-dog {here we have Pete Wentz with his dog}Where I live: Shiloh1st grade teacher: Mrs. Backer... my search kept coming up with Mrs. Bakers instead.. so thought this was an interesting image provided via Google, its uber old!Middle name: DawnBad habit: Eating when bored!College major: Medical Administrative AssistantI remember doing a LOT of this back in the day.... sometimes I miss it. Sometimes I dont. ;)

Favorite holiday: ThanksgivingI love reading blogs and would be delighted if you tagged yourself and did the same.
Have a great day... its super dreary here today. I sooo wanted to sleep in. That turkey Todd stayed home today.. I bet he is snoozing as I type. Gah! Anywho.. one of these days I'll get my ME time! ;O)

I HEART Lee!!!

Well when I said the next post would be fun.. I was thinking joke or something silly.. then I went to Amies blog... oh LORDAY!!!!

Here is what I found... and of course I had to share. This guy is just too much!!! HEART HIM!!!


Go Lee! Dont look back... be the man, the star you are supposed to be!!! :o)

Urgicare to the clay parade!

Ok... so let me catch ya'll up on what has went down since I last posted. Goodeness so much!

1st off.. I want to tell you that we tried out the pan pizza that I posted a couple of posts back and we HATED it!!!! It looks soooo good... but for us it was just horrible. I dont know what I could do to make it better?... Its just the biscuits.. they are horrible soggy in sauce. So.. if you try it and like it let me know.. otherwise.. forget I posted it. LOL

So last week when I was blogging about the soups I got a call from the sitter... I was dreading that. With me being sick I was worried that Hunter would catch something as in the recent weeks he would come up all the sudden with a high temp and we'd give him Motrin and that would kick it. Last Wednesday was such the case. She sent him home with a fever and we treated and he slept good and was fine Thursday morning.. altho a bit sluggish. And of course the docs office is closed on Thursdays and I knew there would be no way I could get him in on Friday, so I went on to work, hoping that it wasnt anything. By 4pm the sitter called and said she was washing him down as his temp was 102.5.
So I ran and got him and Todd and we headed to Urigicare. And waited.............. and waited. Sometimes I think they do it on purpose... but anyway.. We got in and saw the nurse. His temp was still the same and he was beginning to look really ill. He had no other symptoms, other than a headache on and off. And a bit of a cough due to drainage.. yick. The nurse looks into his throat and sees red w/ white patches and swears he has strep. She does the quick swab. Hunter didnt even gag.. he was so brave! So we finally get into see the doc. He hears something in his chest and decides to do a chest xray. I was so proud of Hunter...he really did everything they asked without question or worry. And they were less than happy workers I must say. So grouchy. Geez!

Anyway, when the doc came back in the strep test was negative, the chest xrays were negative but he was still uber concerned about the temp.. it had now risen to 103.6. They immediately gave him Tylenol and Motrin and a popcicle. It took a good hour to get it down to 101. They sent us home with a script for antibiotics because the doc was sureeee that he has strep. Also instructed us to take Friday off.
It took through Sunday for the lil fella to start feeling himself and jumping around.I felt so bad because I had to take him with me Friday to the oral surgeon for a check up and he was just shivering due to the high fever. ;( He insisted though. He wanted to do a family party night with clay so insisted on going and stopping at Hobby Lobby for the clay.

Friday night after Todd got home we just chatted and hung out for a bit til the energy hit us again and we had our family party time with clay. Todd whipped out 4 animals straight away! I worked on my mouse for a good while then decided to do a dragon, which turned into a bug of sorts. Hunter made donut stick, part of a house and a sea turtle. He was so happy that we all sat there, chatted and created. And the clay was a real steal! We got all different colors in a pack for $1.99. And we still have plenty left to do even more. Happy times!

So here we are into Tuesday and Hunter is feeling better, a LOT better.. I swear the kid had springs attached to his feet last night as he was bouncing better than Tigger all over the house! hahaa. I think Ive finally caught up on my sleep and feeling better myself except for a nagging cough, altho its getting better. Now Im dealing with a strange thing.. it feels like someone has punched me in the stomach. I dont know what is going on. I just chalk it up to "the change" or "pms" or something. You'd think Id need to be put out to pasture LOL.

In other news.. I have a skin tag like mole that came up on my face in the last 3 months, Im going to have to go to dermatologist to have it checked out. Fun. There goes our cash again. oh well.. better safe than sorry. With all the sickies I managed to lose about 4 pounds. woot. Lets see.. not much else except trying to plan a little trip for June. Its tough, I dont like swimming and the kids dont think its vacation without it. So hard. But Im sure we'll come up with something. Oh yeah.. one other thing. I discovered Pandora Radio. I loveeee it! Ive been listening to the Easy Listening channel a lot at work. So relaxing and who knew Id fall in love with Frank Sinatra, Floyd Kramer and Nat King Cole?.. eheheee check it out sometime! Maybe you too will discover something new! ;o)

Have a great week! Fun post coming up next! ;)

Soup for the Soul

So after the wonderful "virtual soup" wishes my e-girlfriends sent... I got to thinking about the soups that really comfort me. Its not the chicken noodle soup we all know from Campbells or Grandma...no sir! I'll tell ya whats the BEST comfort soup ever

... but...... first off. Nothing beats a good bowl of creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich.. am I right? Plunging that creamy velveeta-y.. buttery, crisp toast into a bowl of red deliciousness.. oooh YUM

Ok, so I got a bit carried away. hahaa .. I do love tomato soup and dont even get me started on mushroom bisque... Lorday! ;)
~~~~Mouth waters~~~~
ok.. so after getting carried away again just now by the mushroom bisque thought and my urge to google up some yummy recipes and running down to Quiznos to get some... Im now wondering why Im about ready to post the recipe for the soup I started this blog to tell you about?!?

Goodeness.. so exciting!!!

Anyway...I actually have 2 recipes to post. I wish so badly that I had a photo of them to show you just how yummy they are.. but imagine.. and give it a whirl yourself... you are going to LOVE them! I got both of these recipes from my long time friend Rhonda. We grew up and went to school together and have traded some pretty GOOD recipes... her Mom and Aunts and Grandmas too! {LOVE friends like that!!!} So shout out to Rhonda! woot woot!!! ;O)

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
{It really should be called Cheesy Potato Soup in my opinion}

1 cup carrots {grated or chopped up tiny}
1/4 cup celery {chopped}
1 small onion {chopped}
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup velveeta cheese {chopped into hunks}
1 cup of frozen hashbrowns {I used the shredded not cubed}

Bring carrots, onions, celery and broth to a boil, turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix together flour and milk and add to veggies & broth slowly. Cook on medium until mixture is thick and bubbly, then add the rest of the ingredients {cheese, broccoli and hashbrowns}. I transfer to a crock pot and let simmer on low for a couple hours.. you can just cook until it looks ready for your liking.

I seriously always double this recipe. I use a whole block of velveeta and a whole bag of hashbrowns and broccoli. It is also great frozen then reheated later. YUMMMMYYYY!
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Clam Chowder

Sautee:
2 tablespoons butter and 1 medium onion {chopped}

to this add:

2 cans Cream of potato soup
1 can Cream of celery soup
2 cans New England clam chowder soup
1 can minced clams
1 quart half & half

Transfer to crockpot and simmer for a couple hours. Its really super easy since you are using a bunch of canned stuff, but has a hint of your own spin on it. I add seasonings and some garlic for good measure.
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ps: I was hoping to have posted this yesterday, but as I was just getting ready to type the recipes got a call from the sitter... a 3 hour trip to the Urgent Care ensued.... blog post to follow!

All out of sorts

This week Ive been hit by another round of bronchitis/sinus crap.. non stop coughing, freezing, sweating, stuffy nose, no sleep. ARRGGHHH...
It started Sunday.. Mothers Day. I thought I was just tired and wanted to sleep in.. LOL, nope.. I slept almost the WHOLE day!... I was so weak and achy. Then started the deep down cough and wheezing. No appetite, then evolving into throwing up and diarrhea.. oh yeah the whole process! Last night I dont think I got more than an hour sleep. So Im waiting on the crash out hour to hit me at work soon. YIKES! Ive been taking Sudafed Plus so Im hoping that will work, it did help the headache at least.. and Im on antibiotics still from my oral surgery so.. if it turns nasty that should be covered. Soooooo...

I havent been doing a whole lot of anything. Last night Preston called and sent me a picture of himself in uniform for school.. I cant post on the internet.. but he is sooo handsome and sharp! He said his first day was a lot of filling out forms and getting to know people. He said it was super strict. I hope it teaches him some personal responsibility and organization. They wont put up with any excuses there I know. And he does too. Im so proud of him, and know he'll need lots of prayers because we all know what its like to be the new kid on the block starting anew and delving deep into those books all over again! hahaa

In other news.. The weight loss is going steady, I still havent lost anymore or gained. Todd went to the doc this past week and had a terrible report! His blood sugars are out of control {as always}, his b/p was up and his triglycerides were up. He got put on 2 new meds and was doubled on his stress medication. The doc thinks stress has a lot to do with it. And we all know what we do when we stress.. we take joy in the comfort of food. So, he HAS to change his diet. This will only help me so Im on board 100%. Plus I want my husband around for a LONG time!

In other other news... Justices last week of school this week! I cant believe its already over. That went fast! I think he really enjoyed 4th grade. He gave me that video of his class activities for the year and they got to really go on some good class trips and he did a huge biography on South Korea and Thomas Edison. He even got to dress up as Thomas Edison-so cute! Im so happy he loves school work. I wish the bullying part wasnt as bad for him... but maybe over the summer the kids will gain a bit more maturity.

Also.. this summer, our sitter is going to take a 2 week vacation. I will soon have to figure out what to do with Hunter for 2 weeks in June while she is in Hawaii. She says.. go with. Which would be wonderful since my brother is over there.. hahaa.. but alas... that isnt happening. One can dream though. hehee In the meantime.. I've got to do some thinking and planning. I do know that this summer we want to do a lot more camping, hanging out with Grandpa, hopefully moving, bowling with Grandpa and maybe take a mini vacation to Kentucky and the southern part of IL where Superman is from ;) hehe

Whats up in your world? Whats the latest scoop?

Lumpy Pan Pizza

Lumpy Pan Pizza!!!

1	can (16.3 ounces) refrigerated flaky biscuits
1	can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
2	cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
16	slices (1 1/2 inches in diameter) pepperoni

	Print these coupons...
	About Concordance™

1.

Heat oven to 375°F. Separate biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces; place in medium bowl. Add pizza sauce and 1 cup of the cheese; toss to coat.

2.

Spread mixture in ungreased 9­inch square (2­quart) glass baking dish. Top with pepperoni and remaining 1 cup cheese.

3.

Bake 22 to 28 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.


This awesome recipe came to my inbox courtesy of Betty Crocker this morning and I thought this is just to good not to share. The possibilities of this recipe are endless!!! Just think of the things you can add to this!!!

Hunter loveeeees pizza, its about the only thing besides lasagna that we KNOW he will eat! I cant wait to try this recipe and share the outcome. Hopefully it will be as positive as the reviews on the website.

Also I noticed that a lot of folks doubled this and put into a cake pan and baked it for the family. Im sure I'll have to do that as well.

Happy Monday!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all of you hard working, 24/7 Moms... I hope you all have a great day!!! So far today mine has been wonderful. Im truly blessed! :)and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes ever~ There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one! ;)

Mothers vs Stepmothers

There is a difference.... right?
I know that according to the dictionary there are two different definitions..... sigh. Still, I am having such a hard time with a current situation. Let me explain. Any advice would be awesome!

Justice lives with his father. Always has. I did not give him up. I did not NOT try to fight for him, but rather decided that being with his father was the best move for him at the time of our relationships demise. Fast forward to about 2 years ago. Justices Dad gets remarried. Awesome! But this woman has taken on a role that does not belong to her in my opinion. She calls Justice her son. Doesnt correct anyone when they call him his Mom. Justice to my knowledge does not call her Mom. But I have found he will not correct anyone either when she is being referred to as his Mom. Im so beside myself right now, I just dont know what to do.

I live in another state... so it is rare that I get to go to school or extra activities of Justices. I have spoke with his Dad about feeling left out when I do go and feel that I am treated like a stranger, rather than his Mom. Some of this is out of his control. But letting her know her role is something that he has had to speak with her about in the past and I thought/think is under control?

I dont know... I thought everything was under control until last night. Justice is up for the weekend and brought me a Mothers Day card with a video inside. I played the video and it was snips of pictures of his different activities throughout the school year. One particular clip was about biographies where the kids did reports and dressed up as their subject. The teacher took photos of the kids, their projects and the people that visited. All the sudden I see Justice. The next picture is of Justice and his Stepmother and the caption said "Justice and his Mom". My heart just sank. ;(

Ive been a Stepmother before and I would never ever ask those children to call me Mom. They have a Mom. I could and can in some exceptions see where a child would call a Stepmother "Mom".. especially when the child is very young and brought into the situation and/or the Mom is not in the picture. But these are not the cases with me/Justice.

Im just sad about the whole thing and then start 2nd guessing myself as to why Im so upset? If Justice is well adjusted and things are good here and there.. why do I do this to myself? I just know that when we move back home and I will be around more, it is going to kill me to be around this. I think thats why it is bothering me so much now.

Any suggestions?

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

First off.. Happy Cinco De Mayo wooot woot!!! Who doesnt love celebrating this day? Mexican food here I come!!!! Thought Id share a recipe for taco seasoning that my Aunt Linda always had on hand to fix with her deep fried tacos... ohhhh man were they good!!!! I miss Aunt Linda and I miss those tacos.. I dont care HOW fattening they were.. they were AWESOME! hahaa ;)

Taco Seasoning~
2 t. instant minced onion
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. crushed dried red peppers
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. dried oregano

Keep stored in an air tight container and sprinkle in with ground beef or turkey when making tacos. Believe me its better than the pre-packaged taco seasoning you buy in the stores!

Next up.... Do you watch American Idol? OMYGOODENESS... Im totally in awe with the adorable Lee Dewyze!!! I love his voice and he is so stinkin' cute. Not in a "hot" way.. but in a awww kinda way. And today.. I figured out why!!!! He, in my opinion, looks just like my son Preston!!!! Im mean I tried to find a photo to match better but couldnt.. but let me just say.. Todd and I were like WHOA.. when we saw this pic!!! {click on photo to enlarge} Call us crazy.. but we are still thinking whoa... hahaa ;) Also... last night one of my favs.. Harry Connick Jr. ...was mentoring on AI... I just adore him.. he is HOT {yes he is old enough for me to be able to say HOT like that hahaa}!!! He is in my most favorite movie of all time too.. Hope Floats !!!! Love his swagger.. and loved all of the arrangements he did for the American Idol contestants.. especially Lee Dewyze!!! Im so rooting for Lee. His smile just melts me. :) And his singing rocks too!Im soooo rooting for Lee. His smile just melts me. :) And his singing rocks too!

Mini Doggie Album~

I finally got off my duff and created something. A little mini chipboard album for my Mom for Mothers Day. I got the mini album at Target for 99cents! The lil paper kit I had for doggies was from Archivers from when I worked there back in the day. Ive always wanted to make a lil album for my Mom because she loves her doggie Milo so dang much. I knew she would appreciate it.

I hope you like it. Makes me want to do more.. except I wasnt fond of the many scallops!!!! LOL

Laid up~

hahaa.. poor pitiful me. ;) Well the oral surgery went much better than expected. The doc didnt have to repair or get into the sinuses. He repaired the failed root canal and basically told me the dude who did it was an idiot. The wires or whatever they use to deaden the nerves when doing a root canal were all the way through my roots up into my gums irritating the sinuses. Fun huh?

So the pain was pretty intense last night and while I was laid up Todd and Hunter went next door to his sisters house to have dinner with his other sister that was in town from California. I was totally bummed that I didnt feel like going... but it worked out. I snoozed a little and watched the movie Doubt. I really really liked it! Kitty also crashed! haha

This morning I woke up and felt real good except for a slight headache. I was really impressed that the doc took time out this morning to call me and see how I was doing and to tell me I was a great patient. haha ;) That really means a lot that he called to check on me. More docs should I think.. its that personal touch that just rocks.

sooooo...later we went shopping for crying out loud!hahaaa
I got some really good yard sale deals.. lots of clothes for Hunter for fall. And then late this afternoon went to Fashion Bug and found some lounge capris, jean capris and a summer nightgown. Woot Woot. I think I may go back and get a couple bras next week. Then I should be good for summer.

Today is also National Scrapbooking Day. And although I havent scrapped today, I bought a chipboard album to do and some glue dots and plan on fixing up the album and doing some Mothers Day cards tomorrow. I also plan on getting my hair did. Its getting TOO long!!! Todd is taking Hunter out for the day so I'll have some alone time to do that ME stuff.

Im super blessed and happy! :)