Never Mind

Now Nick is sick and Kenzie has been throwing up again tonight.

On The Sick Front...

And if you're wondering, we are all feeling better today.  I haven't had to take any drugs to manage my throat pain, so the antibiotics must be working!  Neither child has puked or had explosive poop in the last 24 hours!  They have been happily playing all morning and both have their appetite back.  I'm still nervous about returning to their normal diet, so another day of crackers, toast, chicken noodle soup, gatorade, and pedialyte popsicles.  WooHoo!

Baked Potato Soup

Here's one of my favorite soup recipes.  Easy, tasty, and leftovers freeze well!

Baked Potato Soup

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 3/4 pounds)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
1 cup (4 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 (8-oz) container sour cream (optional)
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
shredded cheddar cheese

*Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5-qt slow cooker.
*Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
*Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, cheese, and chives.
*Top with sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and cheddar cheese before serving.  Makes 12 cups.


Now, that is the recipe as I found it in my slow cooker cook book, but here is what I do.
-I skip the salt, just make sure you don't use low sodium broth, or you will need the salt.  I've tried the low sodium broth and it's nasty.
-I've never found chicken broth with roasted garlic, so I just use regular chicken broth.
-I use 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese in the soup(we love cheese!), but I don't garnish with extra cheese.
-I've never put chives in it, because I never have them, but I'm sure it would taste good.
-I'm not a huge sour cream fan, so I've never put that on top either.
-For me, the bacon is a must, it makes the whole soup, but I've also put cooked, cubed ham in it and that is good as well.

I almost feel this soup is better the next day, after it's really had time to thicken up and absorb all the flavors, so it's just as yummy as leftovers.  And like I said, it freezes and reheats great as well.
Happy cooking!

How Long Can We Be Sick?

So in the last 15 work days, I've been to work 7 of them.  Rylan, Mackenzie and I have been sick for the last 3 weeks.  Not all with the same thing, no, we've had everything.  We better be immune to it all when it's over, but I'm starting to wonder if it will ever be over.  Here's a breakdown of the past 3 weeks.

Week 1
Saturday - Mackenzie fever
Sunday - Mackenzie fever
Monday - Kenzie fever - Dr - double ear infection
Tuesday - Kenzie recovering, Rylan fever
Wednesday - Rylan fever
Thursday - Rylan fever
Friday - Rylan fever - Dr - ear infection

Week 2
Saturday - Rylan recovering
Sunday - healthy!
Monday - Me sore throat, hoarse voice
Tuesday - Me sore throat, more hoarse voice
Wednesday - Me sore throat, voice completely gone
Thursday - basically feeling like I'm going to die, call Dr, told to wait it out
Friday - yep, I'm dying

Week 3
Saturday - starting to feel better, but still like I'm swallowing knives
Sunday - sore throat, coughing, voice getting better
Monday - Kenzie throwing up, me sore throat, coughing
Tuesday - Kenzie doing better, me sore throat, coughing
Wednesday - Kenzie throwing up, me sore throat, voice getting worse
Thursday - Kenzie doing better, Rylan throwing up, finally got antibiotics for me
Friday - Rylan keeping liquids down, Kenzie throwing up & diarrhea, me still sore throat

I'm ready to give up.

Comments

I've been getting a few weird comments from anonymous people so I've changed my settings and you can still leave a comment, but I have to "approve" it before it's visible on the page.  So don't be confused if you left a comment and it hasn't shown up yet, I just haven't done it yet.  (By the way, I love comments!)

A Few of My Favorite Things

I know I've been really terrible at blogging lately, but I don't want to bore you with all the mundane details of our busy life. I feel like I'm in this cycle of work, cook, clean, play, sleep. Day after day, that's what I do. However, I've been home the last few days taking care of sick kids so I've had time to think of a new blog topic. Here are a few of my favorite things right now.

Heated floors! We've only had them on in the bathroom once so far, but it was heavenly!

Chocolate cake - need I say more? Add ice cream and fresh raspberries and it's perfect!

Morning coffee - yes, I'm an addict now. I need my coffee or I get headaches.

The Twilight Series. I was skeptical about vampire books, but I caved and started reading the first book last Wednesday and I'm already half-way through the second one. Nick and I rented the first movie this past weekend after I had finished the first book and I was a little disappointed, but movies are never as good as the book. I'm thoroughly enjoying this unlikely love story.

Sleep. Yes, I took a picture of our messed up bed - it means I slept well. And I love this bed!

My new lip gloss my beautiful, wonderful Aunt Jennifer sent me to try. I love it so much! (an order will probably be coming your way Jennifer!)

The radio station I listen to all the time, Life 97.9. It's a Christian music station and I love it because I don't have to worry about my kids hearing inappropriate lyrics or material in the car. And in the mornings when I'm usually rushed and a little frazzled, it calms me and gives me encouragement to get through the day without stress.

There you go, the simple things that make me happy during the day. Of course, it goes without saying that Nick, Rylan and Mackenzie also make me happy during the day. Things that I particularly enjoy about my wonderful family are:

-Nick's hugs and kisses goodbye and hello when he goes to and comes from work.

-Rylan randomly telling me he loves me throughout the day.

-Mackenzie's enthusiastic kisses at bedtime.

Grass!

Our grass is growing! We planted it on Labor Day, so hopefully we'll have enough nice weather yet that it can get a good start before winter! I can't wait to run around in our backyard!

Playing outside today - showing me a rock she found.

Kisses from Ace!

Nick and I were watching a movie in our room tonight and when I came out to switch laundry loads, this is how I found Rylan tonight, sleeping on the top step. Good thing he never rolled over! Silly kid!

And speaking of stairs, we got a railing the other day! The railing on the stairs is now complete (other than the caps for the posts)! It's so nice that we don't have to follow the kids around everywhere so we know they aren't going up or down the stairs by themselves. Slow but sure, we're still making progress!