Yummiest and Easiest Crock Pot Recipe

I love the fall and I love my crock pot!

 

This year we are so busy each evening with kids activities. We all get home at different times on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

To avoid fast food I've made a commitment to making crock pot meals these days.

 

Let me tell you, I found a super easy and very yummy recipe on pinterest.

 

Creamy Italian Chicken

 

It's very simple:

 

4 chicken breast (I threw in 4 frozen Tyson)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 8oz of cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

1 packet of Zesty Italian Dressing Seasoning

 

Just throw it all in the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. I pulled the chicken out to shred after that and put in a bag of cooked bow tie pasta and let it cook for about 30 more minutes.

 

It was SOOOO good! We all ate it even the picky kids.

 

There is something so wonderful as a mom to come home and dinner is done and warm.

Busy Life of 6

 

This is a typical evening at our house. 

 

My favorite thing about living in the country is all the room to play outside.

 

Our busy summer days have come to a close and we've started a new school year.

 

This year we have 3 in school. Our Madeline started kindergarten! What a big day for our sweetie.

 We had a final summer outing before school started to the American Girl store in Dallas.

 

 All I can say is WOW!

 

We had a fantastic time!

 Both little girls brought their dolls to join us in afternoon tea.

 Katelyn and Nana joined in on the fun. A girls never too old to play dolls.

 The little girls before the first day of school. Madeline was up and ready 30 minutes before we had to leave. Caroline had no idea she was going to get Mommy all to herself.

 All fixed up and ready for the 1st day.

 

Girls take sure careful consideration what to wear compared to Will who slapped on a shirt from last year and was ready to go back.

 Here she is with her backpack in place ready to start class. This is where Mommy started to tear up.

 This year our oldest daughter made Captain of her drill team!

 

We are beyond thrilled and so proud of her hard work. This team has a very dedicated leader.

 Will continues to be our master lego builder.

 

Since Mommy refuses to put up real deer antlers on the wall Will made his own lego sculpture.

We had a wonderful summer and it flew by very quickly.

 

 In a few short months we will be welcoming another baby girl.

 

She still doesn't have a name but we've got it narrowed down to a few. We might wait until she arrives and see what name fits her best. 

Baby #5 It's a ......

We found out today!

We are thrilled to add another girl into our family.

This is our 4th girl in the family, we will now be accepting donations for a wedding fund.

We gotta start saving now!

We can't wait to meet her in December.

Have any name suggestions?

Living Room Turned Dining?

We've been in our home almost a year. For the last year this room has sat exactly like this... empty.

This is the view right when you walk in the front door.

We've had 2 designers out to help us design the space. Lot's of $$ and we are not "formal" people. Remember we have 4 kids and another on the way.

I'm looking for functional.

Early this morning at 5:30 am it hit me.

Make it the dining room and turn the dining room into a little cozy piano and wine room.

This is our current dining room.

My thought:

Raise the chandy up.

Put my childhood piano in front of the windows

Add a couple club chairs and a side table

A nice room to chill in.

I look forward to resuming my Wine Wednesday's with my husband after the baby arrives.

Am I crazy or will this work?

Big News!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting baby #5 in December!

I am 9 weeks along. I had my first appt today and the baby is measuring right on time and was very active moving around. The Dr was surprised at the activity and said "This is one healthy baby".

We had long conversations and lots of prayers about expanding our family.

We had a rough pregnancy with #4. We met with several different OBGYN's to get opinions about the possibility. They all agreed it was fine and they would proceed with progesterone shots early to avoid the pre-term contractions.

It's a little unorthodox in today's world to have 5 kids but as you know we live outside the square box.

I've gotten some great and some negative responses. I look at it that every child is a gift from God and I thank him to entrusting 5 little souls to my care.

Krispy Kreme

Oh howI love Krispy Kreme donuts!

This is one thing I miss most about living in the country.... these melt in your mouth donuts.

So if you live near a Krispy Kreme stop by on June 1st and have one for me for free!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Madeline

5 years ago today we welcome Madeline into our lives. Little sweetie had some problems at birth and had a hard start at life but she showed her spunk and strong will and quickly recovered.

 We had no idea the little joy that was going to enter our lives. A family of 4 now with 5.

 Always smiling and full of joy!

 Such a sweet little face. I love to see her learn new things.

 She is my child who will walk slowly taking everything in. She's aware of everything and very full of questions.

Today on your 5th birthday I see you as a little girl. You start school next year. How can this be?

I love you so very much!

You are the middle sister and a lot is going on around you.

Your always there to cheer your big sister and big brother on. You love your baby sister Caroline so much. She turns to you for guidance always coping your moves.

Happy Birthday Mitty Girl!!

Call me old fashion

I took this photo straight out of my 15 year old daughters Seventeen magazine.

Did I buy it? Yes.

Did I read it first? No.

I only found out because of my open and honest relationship with my daughter. She brought the magazine to me saying "see this is why my friends are on the pill".

 

 

Here's a quote

"Birth control methods are like jeans: You may need to try a few on before finding a perfect fit. These girls love theirs!"

 

 

What? Are you kidding me comparing birth control to jeans.


Look at the other headline "Sex will be better if you use it"

 

 

The target audience for this magazine is 13 to 18.

 

 

This is not ok with me a mother of 3 girls.

 

New research http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-207039/Pill-harm-future-fertility.html is showing that taking the "pill" for long periods can destroy fertility. All I can say is SCARY!!!

 

Are you going to teach her morals or is Seventeen magazine?


I didn't know this article was in the magazine. The cover looks great with makeup tips and all about The Hunger Games.


Hidden inside is a message to our very impressionable young girls, it's ok to be promiscuous and you can get the pill without your parents knowing. What's next a guide to abortion?

 

 

I was reminded once again today, we have to be aware and downright snoopy when it's come to our children.

 

There are many wolves in sheep's clothing easily luring our children into making poor decisions.

 

We have been in trusted with these children and we are to teach them the moral compass.

 

 

My biggest advice after getting pregnant at 19 is talk to your daughter. Don't be naive, they know more than you think. The internet is littered with filth your children can easily see. Music videos, TV shows... the list goes on and on.

 

 

 She will listen all you have to do is have a relationship where you can discuss sex openly and honestly.

Special Day

Yesterday was a special day for our son.

He has been preparing this year for his first Holy Communion.

 In our faith it's a very special day to celebrate.

We even got a family photo all together and smiling!

Yes, my teenager is much taller than me.

I'm so proud of family.

William is finishing up his 2nd grade year and has grown up way too fast.

He's so handsome and has a very kind heart.

I have to share something that happened this year at school:

I received an email from a mom thanking me for raising a good son. As parents we usually hear the bad and seldom hear the good behavior things.

A little boy was harrasing this sweet little girl in class. She was very upset daily so much so the mother had to say prayers with her each day to help her (heart- breaking).

One day this boy was calling her names and my son went over and told him to leave her alone and stood up for her. Then my son went and told the teacher.

When she got home she told her mom that William stood up to him and it made her feel much better and realized it was going to be ok and she was able to shrug it off.

When I read it I cried with joy, my son is actually listening to what we are teaching him! This email was much better than hitting a homerun at a baseball game. This is true character!

I am so very proud of this sweet boy! Please slow down growing up, I'm not ready.

1/2 off Starbucks

This is a great savings for Starbucks! I love the mocha or vanilla Frappuccino now I can pick them up for half off.

I'll be ditching Sonic for Starbucks today!

YUM!