Southwest Chicken Soup

For Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou:


I love this soup. We found this in an issue of Real Simple several years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. I have easily doubled and tripled this for parties and supper clubs, and I always get tons of requests for the recipe. People can't believe how quick and easy it is. Here is my version:

1 rotisserie chicken (I buy mine at Kroger)
A carton of chicken stock
A can of white beans
A jar of salsa verde
Cumin to taste
Green onions, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc. for garnish

Pick the meat off the chicken and put in a pot. Add all other ingredients. Simmer. You can even throw it all in a crock pot. Serve when warmed through with all the garnishes. Healthy, quick and delicious.

Snow, snow, snow!

Have I moved back to New York? The snow and frigid temps outside are making me feel like I have! It is crazy cold outside, for the 4th or 5th day in a row. It has snowed 4-5 inches, too, and so we are housebound.

The kids were supposed to be back in school yesterday, but it has been cancelled both days. The roads were never bad in town yesterday, but they were terrible this morning. I could get out if I had to, but who wants to drag 5 babies out. I hope they are in school tomorrow - I need to go to Target and run several more errands, but I would rather do it with just the baby if at all possible. Plus, they are bored. And so am I!

I did get out and run both Sun night and last night. It was beautiful last night. I bundled up really well, and I wasn't cold at all. The snow was gorgeous last night. It does me a world of good to be out of the house, breathing fresh air, and away from the munchkins for a bit. I forget how much I need it when I stop exercising. I am totally dependent on my husband right now, though, since the gym doesn't take babies until they are 1.

I have done all the laundry, cleaned the fridge and pantry out, swept the floors, paid the bills, and balanced the checkbooks. I hope to sew some baby gifts this afternoon - at least that is the plan!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am actually going to try to do this again, even if it is only for my own good. I can't remember anything, and my kiddo's lives are flashing by me. If nothing else I can document my days and get the things down that I want to remember for my family!

Christmas was a whirlwind. We traveled to both sets of grandparents, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. We also visited three great grandparents and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. As I usually do, and you can call me a scrooge if you want, I took down Christmas on the 26th. All my greenery this year was live, as was my tree, and they were all well past their prime. It went out the door, and the decorations went into the attic. My kids received much less "junk" this year - we are heading toward more and more electronics. The big gift was a Wii, from Santa, and it has been in constant use. My oldest got her own netbook and my first son got a DSi. They have been well entertained. I didn't have the usual load to put away, but still the taking down, putting away and cleaning took two days.

On Sunday, we had two families over for dinner, and I had two extra children sleep over. That was fun, and we ate well. I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parm and Mr. Crazy made her warm Spinach Salad. It was delicious, but I put off cleanup until the next morning, due to the extra kids and the large amount of red wine consumed. We stayed in the next day, and had some houseguests. A new family that will hopefully be in town in July for good. We certainly remember what it is like to be a "resident's family" looking for a place to land with little extra cash to throw around. We hope they become dear friends, too. Then, we had more dinner guests, a couple of local actors who live across the street. I hit my new obsession again, this time heading for the Chicken Enchiladas and Mexican Rice. Along with my husband's famous guacamole and some fabulous margaritas we had a great dinner, and even better conversation. They are so very interesting and entertaining.

On New Year's Eve Eve, Mr. Crazy and I took a little break. We headed over to the Boone/Blowing Rock area, hoping to spend some of our Christmas gift cards at the outlets. I bought a pair of earrings that we cannot find. We took the baby, and he was great. For New Years, my bestest friend from middle school came with her family. We went to a local restaurant, had some food and drinks, and hung out with some neighbors. She has a 4 year old and 18 month old twins, so my house was truly insane for the 24 hours they were here. I loved seeing them all though.

Yesterday I regrouped and did laundry. I could write a whole post on laundry! Today I have stayed in as it is bitter, bitter cold, and snowy. We have a date for dinner and a movie tonight, though, so I am content to hold my little guy, catch up on my online stuff, and play Wii with the kids.

I do have some resolutions:
1 - the usual cliche - lose weight. Must get rid of this baby weight so I can wear my summer clothes. Yes, he is 3 months old, but this is ridiculous.

2 - Blog. I miss it.

3 - Make more stuff. My creative mojo has been seriously lacking. I already did a quick project today.

4 - Write, in general. I really want to get started on a book in my head, among other things.

5 - Keep track of what I read. I hope to do that here.

6 - Figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, sort of.

Toy Story 3 preview and my 5 year old

Bear just watched the Toy Story 3 trailer online, and got pretty upset. He is so concerned that Andy went to college and left all his toys, which got sent to a preschool (I haven't seen it - this is what he says happens). Then he asked me if you live at college. When I said yes, he started crying. He said he is never going to college because he is never leaving our house. I told him he would want to, and that he could come home in the summer and on weekends. He really got the tears going then too, and made me cry with him. He wailed, "I am never leaving you, Mommy." I know when the time comes he will be so excited about college, but I am glad he is mine for the next 13 years! I finally told him he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do, and that it was a long way off. He stopped watching that preview, though.

Hello!

Well, time to try this again.

I am not new to blogging. I read about a million and one blogs, and have had blogs of my own in the past. I keep finding, though, that I prefer the anonymity of the internet when airing my drama - whether it involves my parenting, my projects, or whatever. I keep running into real life "friends" who find my blog, and I am not comfortable with that for whatever reason. Usually because they are people I keep at arm's length personally, and I like having a "private" place to be me. I live in a very small town, and everyone knows everything, and people TALK. I like the size of the internet - both in its smallness and vastness. So, I plan to hook back up with my bloggy friends, and also to document my life, which once again, has changed dramatically. I don't even like to comment on blogs or enter contests anymore without a valid blog address. Those of you who know me will recognize me, and those who don't can be new friends.

About me: I now have 4 children. I am going to avoid pics, real names, and any other identifying information here. I don't want my husband's patients or my kids' moms, or other people to find them. Plus, the world can be weird! My oldest child, Gigi, is in 1st grade and is 7. She is a bright, happy, sweet girl who is an avid reader (like her mama) and who is a huge helper. My other 3 are boys. Bear is 5, and has a huge heart and a huge imagination. That gets him in trouble, but he has become so calm and sweet over the past year. My Hank is 2 and 3/4. He is now called the "destructor" in our house because his latest pasttime is tearing up or writing on anything and everything he can find. And Poopypants due to his unwillingness to pottytrain and frequent poop issues. He is adorably insane and taking me there with him. I am sad these days over the fact that suddenly he is not the baby he was a very short while ago. Finally, I have Mac, who is approaching 3 weeks old. He is fat and ravenous and cuddly. My last baby. I am enjoying every minute of him.

My husband has a high maintenance health care job, and works out of town a lot. I find myself parenting on my own often, and I get a little nuts. Hence the title of the blog. Plus, it was available. Anyway, I work in health care, too, but not much or often. In my field, I don't make enough money to clear the expenses of childcare by much. So, I work for fun and my own personal satisfaction. We are very active in our community - we work with the library, the local theatre, the arts center, our church, a local not for profit children's healthcare center, the hospital, alumni groups, political groups, and Junior League. This involves some serious volunteer time and fundraising, but these are all things important for our community and family.

I spend (spent before this last child) some time sewing and making stuff. I have several unfinished projects, and several that I didn't blog, so hopefully I can throw that in with the crazy parenting stuff. I feel like blogging is a good way for me to document my life, and if others enjoy it, then all the better. Hopefully this will get more interesting from here!

Enjoy the ride, if anyone is out there.