White Chicken Chili

OK it should really be called red, white, and green chili but it is super yummy.

1 chicken shredded (normally I bake 1 but tonight I got a smoked one from Food City for only 3.99)
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoons of garlic
2 cans of tomatoes (tonight I used tomatoes with jalepenos)
8 cans of white beans (or a mixture of red, white, and black-whatever you like)
1 chopped chili in adobo sauce (optional-it adds a little heat but a ton of smokey flavor)
2 boxes of chicken broth
1 packet of white chicken chili seasoning
1 pack of frozen chopped spinach

First, I defrost the spinach and wring it out. In a giant pot, I sautee and garlic and onions in a little olive oil and add the spinach. Let that cook until the onion is soft. Then, I drain 6 of the cans of beans. I add the chicken, drained cans of beans, 2 full cans of beans, chicken broth, tomatoes, chili in adobo, and the seasoning packet. Simmer on low for an hour or so. If it is too thin, I take a cup or so out and run it through the food processor to puree it and then add it back to the pot.

This freezes beautifully and I make batches and freeze for a quick lunch. I serve it with a cheese quesadilla for the kids to dip into it.

Homemade ornaments

I have been trying to think of fun ornaments for the kids to make. Last week, we had a huge snow and ice storm and the kids used every bit of craft stuff we had-as I tried to save my sanity. So, I decided today that we would finally make the ornaments. I mixed 2 recipes together-salt dough ornaments and cinnamon applesauce ornaments. My thinking was that salt dough sounds terrible but would be extremely cheap and cinnmon applesauce ones smell phenominal BUT are very expensive to make. Here is what I came out with

2 cups flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of warm water
1 of the larger jars of cinnamon (they are usually 2 for a dollar at Walmart)

Mix it all together and roll out on a floured surface into about 1/4 inch. Use cookie cutters or a glass to cut out the ornaments. Use a straw to make a hole. Put them on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 4-6 hours. Ours took close to 5 hours. Let cool then paint with acrylic paints. Coat with a clear acrylic coating. They are much sturdier and cheaper than the cin applesauce ones but smell every bit as yummy!

Nashville bound

I am in a bit of a panic. Adam and I are planning to go see Garth Brooks in Nashville tomorrow night. We are super excited but the thought of leaving the kids overwhelms me. I know some people leave their kids all of the time and never think a thing about it and I am just not like that. When I was a young child, I was "left" all of the time and I hated it. I think that is why I never leave the kids now. I just feel terrible just thinking about it. Then, of course, if something happened with Weston, I would never forgive myself. The kids are staying with my sister Mara. Surely she can keep them all alive for 24 hours right???? This is our first away trip together since our honeymoon-if that tells you anything about how crazy I am about not leaving them. (deep breaths, thinking good thoughts).

God's Plan

Last January, we listened to our preacher preach a sermon on following God's path and how he teaches you to obey him and follow his plan. To be honest, I was half listening and half mentally making my grocery list (yes, ADHD at it's finest). I remember him saying "You may not agree with the path God chooses but it is all for a reason". Well, the following Monday, we found out Weston would have open heart surgery. That night, we decided to stop "not trying" for a baby because I didn't want to be pregnant while Weston had surgery. Clearly, our plans were not God's because I found out I was pregnant the next day. I feel like we have taken most of the things from the past year in stride-praying and knowing that God knows the bigger picture. We have been tested in every way imaginable this year-we went on a very massive, world wide hunt for a surgeon who would even agree to take Weston on as a patient. We constantly heard doctors tell us that they thought Weston would die on the operating table, he was too risky to operate on, and that he shouldn't even be alive after what he was born with. Those kinds of things are devistating. You never want to hear someone tell you any of those things about your baby! Yesterday, when the cardiologist called to tell me Weston now has electrical problems with his heart and will need another surgery, my heart just sank. Seriously? He is 4 years old-he has had 3 open heart surgeries, multiple caths, and everything seems to be a struggle. It would be a lie if I told you that I am not angry. I am angry at God. I can't help but be angry. I want Weston to have a good life-not one filled with pain, medicine, and doctors appointments. I try to find peace that God really does have a plan-but it is awfully hard when I am holding down our now, 4 year old son for his zillionth blood test or for a giant IV or fighting with him to keep his oxygen on. Then, I feel terrible because there are children worse off than Weston and feel guilty because I should feel blessed that he has such a great medical team. I am tired of holding Weston down, tired of seeing him in pain, tired of yelling at dumb residents who ask me stupid questions (yes, there are stupid questions), tired of trying to break him out of hospitals, tired of holding him tight when he has ICU psychosis, tired to sleeping on a hard couch, tired of sleeping in a chair, tired of being awoke every 5 seconds by someone needing something, tired of hospital food, just plain tired of it all. When is it going to end? Is this how our poor babies life is going to be forever??? So tonight, I am trying to turn my feelings over to God and hope he can give me great comfort, strength, and wisdom.

Hooked on Phonics

When we started our homeschool journey, I was looking for a reading curriculum for Easton. He already knew the basics of reading and could sound out short words. He had already read all of the "Bob books" and was reading short number 1 books like Biscuit. Well, I got an email from Hooked On Phonics and they were offering a special-Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade for like 30 dollars. I ordered it thinking that even if Easton hated it, surely 1 of the other kids would eventually like it. We got it and started on the Kindergarten immediately. Easton LOVES it! There is lots of repetition-lots of sounding out words-lots of practice. Now, I will warn you, the books leave MUCH to be desired and I certainly wouldn't say they are well written or even make tons of sense. The books do, however, come with easy review questions to make sure your little one is actually paying attention to the story and not just reading the words. The pack also comes with a chart that they put stickers on for each story they read. After such a positive experience with it, I am going to look into their other curriculum. Weston is even jealous that Easton can read so he wants to do the HOP stuff too.

Easton finished his Kindergarten pack last week so we are going onto 1st grade. I am glad he enjoys reading so much. I am going to look into more of the HOP stuff. I can't lie though-I completely feel like that commercial "Hooked On Phonics worked for me".

Back to work

No, not me. I am not heading back to work outside the home anytime soon. I happen to have at least 5 friends that are heading back to work in the next few days or who have gone back in the past few days. I think to read other people's posts about them going back is very interesting. Some people blatently say that women should stay at home while others say going back to work is the only way to keep sane. I resent both of these opinions. One person made staying at home sound like you were waisting your life away (again, I resented his opinion). I believe that everyone (everyone sane anyways) does what is best for their family. I don't have the heart to tell the stay at home brigade that sometimes, secretly, it would be nice to talk to someone over the age of 5 everyday, go to the bathroom alone, or eat lunch that hasn't been touched by toddler hands. I also don't have the heart to tell the working mothers brigade that I like being here for all of the kids milestones, snow days, boo boo's, and doctor's visits.

I went back to work for a grand total of about a week after Easton was born. I never wanted to stay home. It wasn't even something I thought about. I had a great daycare lined up for him with a phenominal lady to be his teacher. But, everyday I would leave him and cry and cry. I hated my job as a church financial officer (basically, I told poor people the church didn't have money to help them). So, one day, driving Easton to daycare, I called Adam at work and told him I wanted to stay home. He said fine and to go back home. I am not sure what I would have done if he has said no. It ended up being a blessing because when Weston was born, he had so many complications and immune issues that daycare was never even a thought.

I hate when people make generalizations about stay at home moms. Most of the SAHM's I know are well educated and rather intelligent people. None of us lay around all day eating bon bons watching Oprah. The same goes for my friends who returned to the outside the home workforce-they are intelligent people who love their kids. It just seems like outsiders want to make everything into a war of the stay at home moms vs the working moms.

So congrats to all of the moms-working or stay at home-we are all doing the very best we can.

the house that love built

No, I am not talking about the RMD House-I am talking about our house. As most everyone knows, we decided last spring to move back into the house I was raised in and sell our house in Kingsport. Well, we have yet to put it on the market (we have been a LITTLE busy). This weekend, we are heading over to put the finishing touches on it and talk to the realtor next week to get it sold. I have mixed feelings. The house was the first place Adam and I bought that was "ours". We had 2 sets of neighbors-1 old, grouchy couple and 1 of the sweetest families you have ever met. We still go back to visit them-the nice family, not the grouchy couple. I know the house we are in now is a much better fit. The kids have 8 acres to roam with a creek and a waterfall. They see tons of wildlife and have really enjoyed the garden and animals. Adam is happier here too. He has his garage and lots of room for his animals and garden. I am still getting used to a much smaller kitchen. I do love all of the storage though.

So, we have been back in my grandma's old house for almost a year. We have done lots of work. My sister had trashed it and there was stuff piled to the ceiling. We spent the first few months taking truck loads of trash to the dump. We removed wallpaper and painted. We ripped up some of the most disgusting carpet you have ever seen (I am completely ANTI-carpet). The rooms look different but the same in so many ways. Adam has cut down the tulip tree that blocked the sun from letting grass grow in part of the front yard-making a mud pit for the kids anytime it rained. He has even tackled some of the front bushes. Anyone who has ever come to our house remembers the huge bushes. My grandma liked them for privacy-I want them gone so I can see out! We are hopeful that in the next year we will do more extensive home improvements. More trees gone-some new windows, redo the laundry area to make room for 2 washers and dryers, paint the celings, change the fireplace over to gas, blah blah blah.

When my grandparents bought this house, I doubt they ever expected that 30 years later, I would be living here with my husband who wants to be a farmer and our 6 Littles. I never thought that I would have moved back here either.