Look at this photograph...

Every time I do it makes me laugh.....

So my dinner tonight was actually quite boring. So there will be no fun recipe or fun pictures to post about that. I had chicken that was covered with BBQ sauce with original shake n bake on top of that baked in the oven with rice and corn. Yep, boring (but oh so tasty).

So I decided to post a picture of myself and my oldest son. I was going through my pictures tonight and this one just jumped out at me. I LOVE it. It is such a great picture of us. I miss him so much.



See, Chad decided that he wanted to go back to Maine to finish high-school there. He's a freshman and really wanted this. So after a lengthy discussion with his father we made it happen. OK wait, it did not happen quite like that but it's easier to say that then to go into the details of what really happened. The part about him wanting to go is 100% legit though so there he is. Truth be told, the schools are SO much better back east then the are where I am so there is a silver lining in it. A very small one but it's there!

Let's see what tomorrow brings shall we? A picture, a recipe, a bunch of nonsense.. We'll see what happens! Stay tuned!

An amazing dinner!!

So I wish I would have taken pictures but sadly, I did not. I'm going to blog about this though so I always have it and so that I can start to keep tabs on everything I have for dinner. I want to see what kind of annoying rut I get into..

Anyways, last night we had loaded baked potato soup. It's such a simple thing that you can cook in the crockpot. It can sit for 8 hours or more (for those who might work outside of the home and need that extra time to get home.... ) Yep! One of my favorite soups I have ever made. So here is the recipe and I hope that you try it out sometime...

6 large baking potatoes, peeled, cut in 1/2 -inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped (I used half of a large yellow onion.. using the other half for chili)
1 quart chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced (or pressed)
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cream or 1 cup half-and-half cream (I used whipping cream)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (I hate chives so I left this out)
1 cup sour cream (optional)
8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled (I sometimes use real bacon bits, makes it easier for me haha)
cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Combine first seven ingredients in a large crock pot; cover and cook on
HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours (potatoes should be tender).
2. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly
thickened.
3. Stir in cream, cheese and chives.
4. Top with sour cream (if used), sprinkle with bacon and more cheese.

It was like a bit of paradise in my mouth. I also made grill cheese to go with it and it was a perfect fit. So filling and so so so yummy! Try it out and let me know what you think! Later, I'll post all about tonight's dinner. Maybe I'll include some boring pictures too!

Do Your Job!!

So my friend Megan had the best idea for a blog! She writes about people "doing their job". I had to quote "doing their job" because well.... just go check this blog out! You'll understand why :-)

Great blog, Megan!

DO YOUR JOB

5 Q Friday....

So I have not done one of these for a LONG LONG time so I said what the heck.. why not? Here are the questions and my answers... If you have not done a 5Q Friday before check out THIS post, read the rules and play along :-)

1. If you had to choose, how would you prefer to choose to spend money...on landscaping or a pool?
Well I already have a pool (Check out THIS post), so I would take the money and do better landscaping for my back yard...

2. Death penalty, yay or nay?
For the most part, YAY! I think that it depends on the crime to be truthful. Though sometimes, I think the death penalty is the easy way out for a lot of criminals and personally, I wish there was another form of torture that could make their lives miserable with out costing the tax payers all kinds of money... I could go on and on...

3. What's the worst thing your kid has gotten into when you turned your back/blogged/showered/blinked?
Hmmmmmm his diaper? Seriously though, they've all been pretty good. This one time my second youngest got into a TON of baby powder while playing in his room. When i was at work one time my husband sent me a picture of the baby with cornstarch all over himself haha... that was kind of funny...

4. How often do you REALLY go to the dentist?
Holy Crap, I am ashamed to admit this but I haven't been to the dentist since I was 18... Bad right??? I really need to get on that...

And here is where I am going to EDIT this blog to add that my kids are on a regular dental schedule. They all go every 6 months! I am very very anal about that.. it's just myself I slack on. And I don't even have an excuse. I don't mind the dentist.. I just don't do it. Go figure!

5. What is your favorite animal (doesn't have to be a pet-type animal)?
I love the white tigers... they are beautiful....

Ok, so those are my answers... Now let me know if you play along and I'll go read yours as well!! Thanks for reading!!

Swimmy-time, swimmy-time, swim swim swimmy-time

That is what William was singing this morning when he got up!

Today was his first water day of the season at school. He was so excited because we went to Target last night and got him all kinds of new things for water days at school. Water shoes, bathing suit and rash guard and also a new towel. I've never seen a kid so excited before. And I do have to say, he looks pretty cute in his swimmy-wear.. Take a looksie!



On a side note, it is going to be pretty warm this weekend so I think we'll be swimming in this,


Anyone want to come by for a pool party?

Daycare mishaps

Hello bloggy friends.. It's me, Jessica! Did you all forget about me? Seems it has been a while since I've blogged. Live got super busy with a new job which is now a former job due to a mandatory shift change that does not work with our life. My oldest graduated from 8th grade and let me tell you, that was no easy feat. I can only hope the next four years are easier then the last 2.

OK, so the topic of today's posting is daycare mishaps. Normally, I am a VERY laid back Mom. I know kids get hurt, they pick on each-other and get boo-boos. I have four boys. I know the ins and outs of all the ouchies that could possibly be. Today, I am really upset however.

Will goes to daycare 5 days a week for now (he is going down to one day a week for the summer, but that is neither here, nor there..). Well, I've had 3 incident reports in the last 4 weeks because of a certain little girl who seems to have it out for William. The first time she pinched him SO hard that he had a little welt on him for a few days. I let that go. I get how 2 year olds can be. The second time she scratched his face, but by the time we picked him up the scratch was gone. Today Carl picks up will and this is what he sees.....


Yep, now that is a deep scratch and really close to his eyes. It was the SAME little girl who is doing this to him. The teachers say Will is very nice, shares and never has problems with the other kids. Today, he was sitting at the lunch table and she came up behind him and just scratched him....

I am very NOT happy about this. If this same girl has done this three times in a month to just him, shouldn't there be some sort of consequences. I mean, I am not sure what kind of consequences there could be but man oh man... I know a lot of day cares have polices where if a child bites more then 3 times they have to not be in daycare for a certain amount of time. Yet, this behavior is OK???

Is it wrong of me to be upset? I want to have a chat with our director tomorrow as I really feel like something needs to be done about this. This little girl is being very VERY mean to William and he should not have to be the brunt of her mean-ness... What would you do? I really don't want to go all Momma-bear on the director but I don't think what is happening should be happening. Now if it were 3 times in a longer time frame, I wouldn't be as upset, but 3 times in a month is a bit much.....