Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie

This morning I decided to try something new. I will not have time this afternoon to heat up the kitchen so I pulled out the crockpot. I was planning on making Chicken Pot Pie. Here is what I used:

2 chicken breast (cut into cubes)
1 sweet potatoe
2 White potatoes
12 baby carrots
1/2 white onion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk and 2 cups of water.
I put all the vegetables in the crockpot and cubed the chicken. I then poured the soup (mixed with the milk) over the ingredients. I then added 2 cups of water on top to add moisture to cook the carrots thru. I plan on serving this with biscuits and fruit. I hope the Chaos gives it thumbs up!

I am a normal mom whose pendulum swings between brilliance and a "do over"...most of the time it is in the middle. I suppose this is where my children gain the knowledge that life is fun, home is safe, and they are valued. I have been looking for ways to expand our conversations and be more "in the moment". I stumbled upon this blog while perusing Pinterest. (I know talk about disconnect!....I assure you it was for a greater good.) I encourage you to take a look at the questions and use them to discover a bit more about your family.

http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/communication/family-discussions

I also came across these....
Twenty Questions to ask your kids:
1. What do you like to dream about?
2. What is your best memory this school year?
3. Who is your hero? Why?
4. How would you describe your family?
5. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
6. What are you most proud of yourself for?
7. Who is the kindest person you know? Why?
8. What do you like most about your best friend?
9. What is one thing you would like to learn to do well?
10. If you were an animal what one would you be and why?
11. When is the last time someome hurt your feelings? How did you react?
12. Do you know someone who is going though a hard time? How can you help them?
13. What is the scariest thing that happened this year?
14. If you could keep only one thing, out of everything you have, what would it be?
15. Who do you think is really successful? Why?
16. What’s the best thing about your teacher this year?
17. When do you feel misunderstood by grown-ups?
18. What three words best describe you?
19. What’s something that makes you angry?
20. What’s the best compliment you ever received?

I am going to start asking the questions and recording them in a book. I started a journal for the kids when Gman was born. ....I have been neglecting this for some time. This will be a nice way to get an insight as we grow. Today, I am looking for the softer side of our Chaos. I hope this helps to see a bit of a different side in your chaos also.

I am in an identity crisis; Not in the mental way but in the mommy way. I am in a space of change. I have graduated college and my cuties will all be in school this Fall. So, do I continue to be Mom at home or do I switch gears and be a part time working Mom? I will still have Camp Chaos in the afternoons but what to do in the morning after everyone is in school? Do I substitute three days a week? Do I find a job Mon-Fri 8:30-2? See, this is the crisis. I need to bring in more money for the bottom line and the process of how to do that has become foreign to me in the past 6 years.

I like the prospect of working outside the home. It is something just for me, much like school. I would not like to invite the stress back into my life. I know mothers do this everyday. It is not that big of a deal....in theory.

I would like as much input on how this has worked in your lives. I would like to keep the Chaos at a minimum but understand it may take time to right itself. Tell me how this worked for you.

Spring Break is upon us and I am starting to gather information to keep my little ones busy. I love Pinterest and all the wonderful finds on there. I am going to sort through all my book marks to share in one place. I love the thought of making Fairy doors for the Tooth Fairy to come through, "Fire flies in a jar" by using a glow stick and the list goes on and on. The one that is meant for kids but I want to try is a bubble bath with glow sticks and the lights off. I think that is the epitome of indulgence.....add a glass of wine and I am set!

My kids are looking forward to having some down time and I am certain that the "down time" will be over by Monday (the day it actually starts). We will check out the goodness of our local library, visit the children's museum, make some art, make some homemade goodies and maybe visit some long over due friends and family. We will not be taking a vacation for the Spring but we will take a break. I feel that I need to refocus and spend quality time with them because so often I am focusing on school. I will have the summer as well but like to say this is the "prelude" to the summer.

We may even make a giant "to do" list for the summer and add to it as we go along. This will make my planning much easier and the kids will have a say in what will happen over the summer. I live in a stae of controlled and well planned Chaos but I love it!

Hello. This journey of being healthy and smoke free has been wonderful and hard at the same time. I am going through pictures to post because this journey has changed focus for a moment. It is about me and taming my own Chaos so I may pass on some peace to my children. I found very few pictures of myself from the past years. It seems somewhere along the way I have avoided the ugly truth in who I have become. I not only wish that there were more for documentation sake but to remember each moment for what it is.

I have now begun to really look at my children with a new perspective. My son is really starting to read. For this Mamma, there is nothing more wonderful than seeing my son sounding out words. He will be able to guide his own interest and discover a new path of independence when the words make sense. I am so very proud of him!

My daughter is (and always has been) fiercely independent. I watch how she can take a moment and turn it around in a flash. She is the youngest of the neighborhood posse and this sometimes causes a few tears. She can come in crying, get a hug or just be heard, and then back out she goes. If only life were really that simple!

I am smoke free for 63 days! For those who ask "How do you do it?" I had just had enough. I really feel for me I had been chained to the nicotine and the habit for so long. I had been contemplating this move for some time but just really thought  I couldn't do it. Like a new diet; I will start Monday....etc. Well, I truly haven't missed out on anything! I do think about smoking when I am stressed, bored or just really having a moment. I do something else. I make a choice to move past it. I would love to say my house is a bit cleaner, the love(scrap) books are a bit fuller, I exercise a bit more....not so much; I am smoke free though. I am tackling all I can right now. I graduate college in May and will concentrate on walking everyday for at least 30 minutes. I am taking baby steps because I am a work in progress!

Boys... I am learning many things as I progress on this wonderful journey called mothering. I am learning that the forrest really does overtake the view sometimes. I am so wrapped up in the parts of my day, how they "should" be and the schedule....I forget to take the proper time to hug, inspire, create and just be. My son is loud, rambunctious, thoughtful, funny and so much more.

I heard it once said "live life with reckless abandon". I have always sided with a bit of caution. I am not one who can easily remove myself completely and just let go. Maybe it is a "female" thing, an "older and wiser" thing, maybe it is just my "nature"; whatever it is.... I wish that I could just let go and see the wonder in thoughtlessness of childhood make believe. Maybe I can be a Jedi, a Knight or even a Quaterback.  I need to take heed from my son and play hard because for today, it means everything to him. It might make a difference in what I classify as Chaos....

Today, I celebrate the birth of my sweet little girl! I am so proud of her. Happy 4th Birthday!!!
She is strong willed, loving, kind and smart as a whip! I sometimes forget that this is a job that I have chosen. She test my every reserve some days and then on others asks "Mommy do you need a snuggle?" She loves school and I hope for her that the love of learning never leaves her. I love that she can play in her imaginary world for a few hours and still retain the wonder of it all. I miss that part of being a kid; I think I have forgotten how to play. She causes the Chaos and helps me put it all in perspective. Most of all this says what I can not:

All my love to you, Fi! You have changed my life. Love, Mommy

A new year...another beginning.

It seems that I have a problem...... this is me on a not so glamorous day (if I ever had one). Yes, I am the one in the middle. The two ladies on my sides: best friends since High School. I have always been a bit curvier than them but not LARGER. I have made two resolutions this year......to be healthier and kinder to myself. This included going cold turkey on New Years day with smoking and joining Weight Watchers the very next day! It will be tough but I do not want to be the parent that passes on poor habits because I am too lazy to change them.

I am not posting this for all the wrong reasons of look at me but more so to say....I really need help in accomplishing these goals. I have more than 50 pounds to loose and would like to kick the smokey treat habit forever!

So if you happen to read this post and continue to check in....I will post my strides as I make them (good and bad). We are all human and can use a little kindness and courage. So here I am asking for support from the world. Help me harness the Chaos!