Cheesy Veggie Soup

I've gotten a lot of good recipes from co-workers. I love when we have snack days and people bring various foods to share. I've gotten a lot of good recipes this way! I'm glad I finally made a pot of this soup at home!

6 cups water
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups diced potato
2 cups diced celery
salt and pepper

Pour these ingredients into a large pot. Cook for about 20 minutes on med-high heat.

Now add:
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free)
1 1/2 pounds velveeta, cubed (used 1/2 less fat velveeta)
1 1/2 bags california blend frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
Turn heat down so you don't burn the cheese on the bottom of the pan (I'm not saying I did this or anything...). Cook until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

This past Saturday we finally made it to the pumpkin patch! It was a fun time. We were glad to have Mimi and Poppy join us for the fun. The boys had a great time choosing their pumpkins, riding in the wagon, and riding on the train. They had been to the play area not too long ago for a birthday party so we decided not to spend a small fortune on that! We bought a few apples, donuts, and pumpkins. As soon as we got home we started working on our pumpkins. The boys finished carving them on Sunday and they look great! I'll have to take pics of their carved pumpkins.

Checkout the new fire helmet Wilson saved his allowance up to buy! He wore it all weekend!


Pure joy!

The annual orchard photo!

The Appointment

Andy and I met with the Play Therapist today to discuss Wilson's worrying. We walked out of there both feeling great and knowing that this was the next step we needed to take. We were really happy meeting the PT. She seems very down to earth, understanding and she is a Christian. This is a Christian counseling group so we knew that going in, but she prayed with us before we left and it just felt right...

We talked to her about the types of things Wilson worries about. We gave her numerous examples that have occurred over the last couple months. Told her about his nervous habits he does when he is anxious and answered her questions. She reaffirmed us and told us that it sounds like we are doing a really good job helping him manage his anxiety by talking him through things yet still pushing him to try new things. She agreed that there does indeed seem to be a problem and through some play therapy sessions she can help him learn how to deal with his worries. She explained how she'll talk to him and some strategies she'll use. Andy or I can stay with him for as long as he needs one of us to while he is there. Meaning she won't try to separate him from us during his appts unless it just happens naturally without causing him more anxieyt. Everything about the appt went well and felt right. I'm so thankful we took this step and look forward to how it will help Wilson deal with his anxiety. Thank you, Lord!

Wilson Update + Fun Weekend

Wilson is scheduled to get tubes on November 9th. He saw the ENT this week and still had fluid on his ears even after his antibiotic he finished a week ago. ENT said it looked like a chronic problem and the tubes would definitely help him to feel better. Looking forward to those being put in so he can stay healthy!

On Saturday Andy and I meet with the play therapist to let her know what our concerns are regarding Wilson and his anxiety. I am looking forward to her opinion and knowing what plan of action we should take if any.

Looking forward to a fun fall weekend! I'm planning to make pumpkin- looking cake pops tomorrow night with the boys. Saturday we're planning to go to the pumpkin patch, and Sunday is our annual harvest party at church! It's going to be a great weekend!

Fall is here!

Isn't this a beautiful color! I had driven by this tree a couple of times and decided I wanted to walk to it to see it even better and get a picture. Tyler and I walked yesterday to get the picture. It is even better in person. Last week for fall break we went to Great Wolf Lodge with my side of the family. It was SO much fun! I seriously want to go back again! It was tough having a baby because of naps and him needing to be held while at the water park. But Andy and I did have fun taking turns riding the big tube water slides and we did the lazy river as a family. My mom kept Ty so the four of us could ride the group tube slide. That was fun! Then my dad, sister and I rode the "roller coaster" water slide. GWL is so cool! The kids enjoyed not only the waterpark but also the halloween trail that was inside and the arcade. Our room was nice and the kids got to sleep in the Wolf Den Lodge. You can click the name of the room to see a picture of what it looked like. We were too busy having fun and watching kids in the water to take pictures. On our way up to the Lodge we shopped at IK*EA and then on the way home we stopped at a GREAT outlet mall. We bought just a few things at Ik*ea (seriously spent less than $8!) and 1 thing at the outlet malls (a large le creuset crock for holding all of my spatulas etc on the counter)- but I could have spent a lot more!! We went in maybe 4 stores because of kids and time etc. But I know where it is now and I plan to go back!

Poor Andy...

The bone that is broken is under the dark purple spot...

So swollen...

Last night Andy went to play softball with the men's team from church. He was playing 1st base and caught a throw from 3rd. It was low towards the ground and when he caught it in the tip of his glove it hit his ring finger on his left hand really hard. He said it hurt really bad and he moved himself to out field so he wouldn't need to catch any more hard throws. By the time he got home from playing the whole game his finger was purple and really swollen. Looked awful. He put ice on it and took motrin. This morning he went to the doctor and found out that it was indeed broken, right on the tip. The blood that has pooled up around the tip is causing him a lot of pressure. The doctor thought it needed to be drained so they sent him to a hand specialist. Due to the broken bones they were unable to drill a hole in the nail because the risk of infection was too high. He has to wait it out and let it heal on it's own. The doctor gave him a couple prescriptions and a little splint for the top joint of his ring finger. I know it is bothering him a lot but he was working on insulating the downstairs bathroom when I got home from work. They he helped make dinner. He's a trooper! I picked up his prescriptions on my way home and got him some peanut butter M&M's to help him feel better. :) I'm so thankful that my principal told me to go with Andy to the dr when I ran into her office this morning to tell her what was going on. Andy had Ty and at that point we thought he was going to have a hole drilled into his nail. He couldn't do that alone with a baby! He swung by and got me on the way to the doctor so that he could go to his appointment while I kept Ty and picked Luke up from preschool. So thankful that my principal made it easy for me to be with my family during the emergency!

Another set of tubes?

Wilson has had trouble with fluid on his ears for about 3 weeks. He's been having trouble hearing and home and at school. Made a follow-up appt for today and they said he still has lots of fluid and the nurse at the appt today did a hearing test and said he did really bad on it...so we have been referred to the ENT for tubes. Calling tomorrow to make the appointment.

Officially done nursing.

Luke points with his middle finger. All the time. With his MIDDLE finger!

Should I chop off my hair?

Fall break next week!

Tree House (aka Sky Castle!)

I finally took pictures of the tree house Andy has been building. The boys are thrilled beyond words. The playset part of the tree house isn't finished but the tree house part is complete. This week Andy finished the beam for Ty's swing. He loves his swing! Notice his new shoes in the picture too...you can't even tell they are triple wide, huh?! Wilson and Luke love going up in the tree house with their friends. The ladder is so cool- when you step on the ladder it slides down about 9 inches which opens the trap door to the tree house. So when they are up there the trap door is closed and they are safe! I know there will be many fun times in the club house with friends! The boys are SO lucky to have a daddy willing to design and build a treehouse for them. Thanks to Poppy and Uncle Bill for helping Daddy too!

Inside the treehouse!

Energy, is this what you feel like?

Dear Energy,
I have missed you for a long time. Today as I was cooking dinner I felt different and I didn't quite know what I was experiencing. Finally it dawned on me that it was you! I wish you came around more often but I think I know why you were able to visit today. I only taught my students for 30 minutes this morning, 40 minutes this afternoon, and did dismissal. The rest of the day I was away from the building at a training. I learned a lot but I wasn't teaching 24 students intervention reading, writing, and intervention math. All I taught this afternoon was social studies. I love when you come around. Try to visit more often!
Love,
alyssa

Bean and Cheese Dip

Yum. Tonight I made this bean dip (scroll down until you see it) to go with our favorite chicken quesadillas. We have been eating the quesadillas for a while from Annie's Eats and love them. We don't grill them like it says in the recipe. Just cook them in a skillet. Now I love the bean dip too! It is really good and was very easy to make. Win-win! There are pictures of both recipes on her blog. Enjoy!

Size 4, Triple Wide

So I took Tyler to HC, our favorite children's shoe store for his first pair of shoes. Yes, you read that correctly! First pair of shoes. I've never put my little babies in shoes, can't be comfortable or necessary on someone so little. Now that he is pulling up and cruising and is a big one year old we figured it was time. Each of our boys have gotten their first pair of shoes with the talking tree. They have all been the same shoe too, just different sizes. Well when I took Tyler in today they measured his foot without socks on. She looked at his foot after measuring and mentioned that she'd bring out out the 4 wide. That shoe didn't fit so she went back to get another pair. I figured she was getting a bigger size...but no, a WIDER shoe in the same size! After getting those on his feet and letting him cruise around I told her we'd take that pair. I asked her what size we ended up with and she said a 4, triple wide!!!! I laughed out loud!

* I'll add a picture with him wearing his new shoes soon...the shot above was my only chance to get a picture of him - my photographer wasn't with me! He was home working on the playset.

**Ty went to sleep tonight without nursing for the first time. I might be officially done nursing.

Growing Up!

Last night Wilson got to go to Fabtastic Friday at our church. It is for K-5th graders. They ate pizza at church and then went bowling. I was so proud of him for going! He was super excited and looked forward to it for over a week. When he got there he did get nervous and tried to change his mind but Andy convinced him to stay and he ended up having a fun time! It was weird having Wilson out doing something on his own - crazy that we have a child old enough for that now! It was nice but different! Luke was pretty sad that he didn't get to go so we let him choose where to eat for dinner (he wanted a hot dog from 5 guys) and then came home for game time. I put Ty to bed and me, Luke and Andy played games. It was fun! We played Cooties, Bob the Builder Memory and Diego dominoes. When Wilson came home he was all excited and told us about bowling and how much fun he had. Good times :)

Made the Call.

We decided to call the play therapist. Why has it taken me so long to make the call? I don't know. But I did it tonight and hopefully we'll hear back from her in the next couple of days. At this point we're just going to set up a meeting for me and Andy to go in and talk to her and see where we need to go from there.