A mouse in the house! & recipe :)

**UPDATE ON SOUP RECIPE***
Ok...J LOVED this potato soup. I'm making more this coming week to have on hand. It made a great late night dinner for me this week after 2 rehearsals that went past 10pm :) because it wasn't heavy-feeling. I hope you get the chance to make it!!
*********************************************

Here is my week 3 Project 365 layout...and as per request from my Southeast Tex friend, I have pasted my journaling notes under each layout since you aren't able to read them on the pictures (but I've tried to change names where possible as usual for the blog post) :)

(layout credits for both pages: papers by http://www.weedsandwildflowersdesign.com/, template by Meridith Tiede http://www.moriginals.blogspot.com/ )

Day1: Week 3 started off with a babysitting job...of Pearl the turtle and Madeline the mouse. J was not excited about this, he was a bit freaked out...but by day 3, he wanted the mouse to crawl on him and play. He loved her. The turtle...not so much, he was bored by her. Sorry Pearl! Our friends let us keep them while they went out of town for the week. They have promised us we can borrow Madeline until we get our own mouse!

Day2: Mville’s birthday!! We used to meet for coffee at Starbucks (the coffee girls), then we occasionally went for lunch or dinner because we just didn’t have time for late night coffee. Last fall, MCline & Mville & I discovered that mornings, after dropping the kids off at school, is the perfect time to catch up every few weeks, so we are now the iHop girls! And Mville chose it for her b-day treat!

Day3: Pumpkin pie...I had to add this picture in because this is something that always makes me smile! T’s favorite dessert is pumpkin pie...with a ton of cool whip, of course. Old Navy happened to be selling these boxer shorts one year and I had to get them for my man :) They crack me up! And make me want pumpkin pie for some strange reason.

Day 4: This cat is the bane of my existence...Barker...and he just won’t stinkin’ die. BUT...on a rare, almost smart, occasion (which doesn’t come often with Barker), I snapped this photo. Barker had hopped onto the couch, lacking grace as usual. He then walked over to my computer, slowly but purposefully placed one paw on the touch pad and turned on the screen. He sniffed the screen and the keyboard, as if he was happy with what popped up, then proceeded to sit on the comptuer. I had to give him props for this move.

Day5: Dad’s daily routine to cure his cancer: Meds at 8am & 9am, blood pressure at 9:30am, shots at 9:45am, blood pressure at 10:05am, radiation at 10:15am. He is taking chemo 3 times over 9 weeks also, but I haven’t been there for that yet. This was a great day because he had gained weight instead of lost!

Day6: Aunt J, Dad’s baby sister, spent Friday afternoon and evening with Dad & I while mom was out of town. She came back over Saturday afternoon to bring Dad lunch and just help out wherever she could. We are so blessed to have such incredible family. They keep up via e-mail, phone calls and personal visits. Aunt J can always make me laugh!

Day7: J was spending a little quality time with Madeline before we had to take her back to her family. It took him a few days to start playing with her, but by Sunday, he was a sad that she couldn’t stay with us! I guess we will be mouse shopping soon...

Now..as you can see in one of those pics, J is letting a mouse crawl all over him...we "babysat" for some friends while they were out of town all week. Pearl the turtle and Madeline the mouse hung out in our home for a week. When I first told J they were coming, he freaked out a bit..."a mouse, mom, a mouse...what if it gets out and crawls all over me", etc... etc...etc... In fact, stupid me, told him at bedtime so I'm not sure he slept well that night! I brought them home Mon. night but it was after band practice (which by the way...side note...we now officially have a new name "One Name"...cool, huh? It's after one of the songs we sing that one of our guys wrote). Anyway, it was late Mon. so J was in bed. Tues. night I decided to carry Madeline into his room to let him get a look at her. He didn't want to hold her but he did pet her very lightly, then he said he was done. Well...by Wed. afternoon, he was ready to let her crawl on his hands and by Thursday, he was completely attached! And it's actually great for his hands. She likes to crawl from hand to hand but he has to work on keeping them flat to let her crawl easier. It was also a nice distraction from his usual video game time :)

Madeline had to go home Sunday morning and J actually became a little teary-eyed. He didn't want to give her back! We've been assured they will let us borrow her from time to time, though. I'm guessing, however, that T will be talked into getting J his own mouse soon....and yes, we have cats, but no...I don't think either of them have enough ambition to actually chase a mouse, ha! Oh...and as for the turtle...J thought she was neat to look at, but not so much fun...so sorry Pearl!

Last night we had our Cub Scout group (we are Bears this year) out to our home for a campfire/cookout. The boys had a great time.

They told a few stories, cooked hotdogs and smores, then learned how to whip the ends of a rope.

All of our 6 boys this year should earn their Bear Badges, we have a great group. T, J & I have been in this group for 3 years now and it's so fun seeing the boys mature a little more every year. (I did say a "little"...I mean, they are 10 year old boys ya know!)

And is this not an incredibly handsome man? I love this picture of T :)

Ok...now for a recipe! This comes from AG aka Batgirl...she sent it to me to make for Dad & Mom, it is SO good...and it's cooking in my crockpot right now for me & my boys :)

Crock Pot Potato Soup

6 large russet potatoes, peeled & cubed - 1/2 inch cubes

1 large onion, chopped fine (I used onion powder!)

3 cans chicken broth (with garlic...I just added garlic powder w/regular broth)

1/4 c butter

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Put all in crock pot, cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 (until pot's are tender...I tend to go w/the 8 hours on low)

Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsly chopped (and somewhat like you want your soup's texture to be) until soup is thickened. Stir in 1c of whipping cream, 1c sharp shredded cheddar cheese. Optional: 3Tbs fresh chopped chives. top w/sour cream, bacon bits & more cheese in bowls.