What's for Dinner Wednesdays - Cheesy Potato Soup!

So everyone in the house except Mr. D has been sick this past week :(  So we made some of my Mom's awesome cheesy potato soup.... the ultimate in comfort food to make us all feel better.

It took around an hour to make and is so worth the time!!

Ingredients:

1 small onion

2 Tb Butter

6 medium potatoes (or 3 of those large bake potatoes

4 cups water

2 cups milk

1 can of cream of chicken or cream of celery if you want vegetarian

1/2 tsp garlic salt

dash of pepper

12 oz of Velveeta Cheese

• In a big soup kettle add butter and saute the onions until brown.

• Add the 4 cups water, and potatoes that have been peeled and cubed to bite size.  Bring to boil.
• Cover and simmer for 15 mins. (or until potatoes are tender)

• Stir in milk, cream of chicken/or celery, garlic salt and pepper.  Heat throughly.

• Cube cheese and add to the pot stirring until cheese is melted through the soup.

You can add some shredded cheese to top it off.  Mr. D likes to also add Bacon crumbles to his :)

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Book of the Week Tuesday!

This week, KJ is still feeling under the weather so I am picking our book of the week!!  Mr D. and myself have been having some financial issues this past year because of several unexpected large bills.  Because of this, we have racked up our debt and have been looking for a way to help dig ourselves out.  I got this book from my parents and haven't been able to put it down!  I totally recommend this book to anyone and EVERYONE!  If you have debt or not it is a great resource for how to be financially savvy.  

I am looking forward to becoming debt free and less stressed about money!!

Dave Ramsey's Site

Look inside the Book!!!

Free Write Fridays: Little Bit of a Rant...

I know it is now Saturday and not Friday.... but I have a little rant I needed to get off my chest.  Maybe you are a parent like me and can sympathize with my situation and where I'm coming from.  This is the very first 'negative' thing I have ever written on either of my blogs so please forgive me in advance.  

So here is my rant:

To the parents of other kids.... If your kid is sick PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME!!!!

Don't take them out shopping, or to the mall.... Don't take them to their dance class where you know they will be holding hands with other children.  Don't take them to church and other activities where they will be sharing crayons and obviously germs!  

I get so sick and tired (pun intended) of taking my perfectly healthy child to her normal social activities during the week only to get her back - sick!

We are a very health conscious family and so far we have been very blessed that KJ hasn't really had any major sicknesses in her almost 5 years on this earth.... But this year she has been sick more than any other year, and I really feel like it is a group of kids that attend her Wednesday night Awanas who always show up even if they are sick.  It amazes me that parents will take their sick kids to their activities as if nothing is wrong.  Uh HELLO!!!!!  Keep your germs in your house... when your kid is better then they can come back.  We actually had to send out a flier to our Awanas parents telling them to make sure and keep sick children home.  REALLY?  We have to tell parents to do this??  Why is common sense lacking here???

So we have Awanas on Wednesday nights and my very healthy KJ went as normal... she woke up the next morning with a cough.  I gave her meds and some home remedies and she was fine during the day.  (normal croup virus: attacks mostly at night)  Well she kept getting worse and worse and last night she woke up crying saying she couldn't breath and couldn't swallow.  So we took her into the ER.  She received a breathing treatment and steroids for the swelling.

They said she would be contagious for the next 5 days...  So I'm going to be the responsible parent and keep her home from all of her activities for the next week.

But what then....?

What about when she is all better?  All the hard work to get her well again... the money spent on doc visits and the ER, and medicine.... 

I know that as soon as we go back to our activities again there will just be another kid who is still sick and contagious that KJ will be interacting with who will in turn get her sick again.  

Does anyone else feel my frustration out there????

So in closing......  PARENTS, PLEASE KEEP YOUR SICK KIDS HOME UNTIL THEY ARE WELL AGAIN!!!!!!  The rest of us parents and our children would really appreciate it.

Thoughtful Thursdays: Cloth Diapers

So with my first kiddo, we used disposable diapers and this time around I wanted to try something new.  So I looked into cloth diapers and all the different brands and types... it was a little exhausting just doing the research!!  So I'm here to share with you our choices and our experience so far with our cloth diapers.

After all the searching and comparing we decided to use Bum Genius 4.0 snap diapers.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW DIAPERS

We have been using them for a little over 2 weeks now and these are the pros and cons I have found to cloth diapering :)

Pros:

• They are super soft and super cute with lots of colors and styles to choose from!
• We will be saving about 3000 dollars by not having to buy disposable.  And will be saving even more since we will probably use them for future kids as well. (This is what sold Mr. D on the cloth idea)  We also bought cloth wipes so we will also be saving money by not buying disposable wipes.
• No more diaper genie and buying those expensive refills.
• We are being a 'green' family by not adding thousands of diapers to the land fills. 
• Potty training is considered easier with kids who use cloth diapers compared to disposable.
• Cloth is better for baby's bottom :)
• The diapers are one size so they fit newborn all the way up to potty training!

Cons:

• It is a big expense upfront.  We paid about 400 for all the diapers, cloth wipes, and the poo sprayer.
• It is more work... I am now washing diapers about once every two days.  And after they are all clean you then need to stuff the inserts.  I don't mind the work when I think of the money we are saving, but with being a SAHM I have the time during the day to get them done.  Mommies who want to do cloth but also work and don't have the extra time, I would recommend looking into a diaper service that washes them for you :)
• You have to change the baby more often.  I remember with KJ being able to get by with keeping her in a diaper longer. But with cloth you have to really stay on top of changing them more often.

So far I've been really happy with the cloth diapers we chose.  I would recommend getting at least 20 diapers or more depending on how often you want to do laundry.  Below is a link for a very helpful video I found while researching diapers.  I hope my comments and the video can help someone else in their research about cloth vs. disposable diapers!

Video 'Why we chose Bum Genius'

Video 'How Cloth Diapering Works'

What's for Dinner Wednesdays - No Bake Oatmeal Cookies!!

Obviously this isn't for dinner... but I have a serious sweet tooth and these cookies are the best quick fix for dessert!!!  So here is my Aunt Sandy's No Bake Oatmeal Cookies!

You Will Need:

• 1/4 stick of Margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup or coco or peanut butter (or both)
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 2.5 cups of quick oats
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for 3 mins.

While still hot sir in the oats and vanilla.

Once mixed together quickly drop spoonfuls on wax paper or cookie sheet to cool.  

ALL DONE!!!!!  So easy!!!!  ENJOY!!!!!!  :)

Book of the Week Tuesday!

This week KJ chose a book that was given to us by our dear friend Mershon, who is currently teaching English in Japan.  She sent KJ this book last year for her birthday and KJ LOVES reading the short stories inside.  Her favorite story is "The Rabbit Who Crossed the Sea".

I highly recommend this book that is filled with a collection of children's stories from Japan.  It was neat to read stories I had never heard before and from another culture.  Enjoy!!

Click here to look inside!!!

Lesson Plan Mondays - Letter 'Kk'

We are back and doing great since ET was born on Feb 2nd!!!!


This week at the Nguyen Nguyen Academy we are working on:

• The letter 'Kk' (writing and sounds)
• Math - Intro to Subtraction
• Reading practice and sight word flash cards
• History - Kings and Knights
• Social Studies - Being Kind
• Science - Keys as conductors
• Typing practice
• Bible time - Kings

Fun projects we will be doing for 'Kk' week:

• 'Kk' Kite for our chalk board
• King book activity
• Key activity
• Kindness Activity
• Kangaroos Activity

Pics of Baby ET

NEW BABY for the Nguyen Family!!!!

E.T. was born last night 2-2-12 on Groundhog Day at 11:50pm.  He weighs 7lbs 7oz, and was 19.5 inches long.  We established breast feeding in the first hour after he was born and was on our way home from the birth center by 3am this morning!!!  My mother was there and took lots of pictures that I'll be posting when I get some time :)

Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family for the thoughts, prayers, and support!!!

We are feeling very blessed this morning.

Thoughtful Thursdays: Why We Homeschool

I woke up this morning and realized that I have never really written about our personal choice to homeschool.  As this is a homeschooling resource blog I felt it was important to share our reasons for our decision.  I understand most families don't have the option to homeschool if both parents are working full time out of the home.  I also understand how incredibly blessed I am to have the opportunity to stay at home with our kids, and that Mr. D supports homeschooling.

When I first thought about homeschooling it was because KJ was only 4 and couldn't start public school but she had finished her Pre-K class with flying colors.  So it was a choice of....  have her do Pre-K again.... or keep her home and lose a year waiting until she could enroll in K... or homeschool.  I had some reservations about the stress and pressure of being my daughter's teacher.  But those soon went away after the first week of class and she did amazing.

Since we started homeschooling I have found so many benefits compared to public or even private school.

• I get to spend all day with my child and I'm in full control of what she is and is not exposed to.
• We get Bible time and can incorporate our Faith during class.
• She is learning more than just 'book' smarts... she is learning lots of life and home skills.
• Field Trips!!!!  Experiencing knowledge hands on!
• Time: 8 hours at school compared to the 2-3 hrs a day we spend on school.
• There is consistency in her discipline.
• Working at her own pace.  She is in Kindergarten, but has moved onto First grade math and science.
• Seeing my child learn and grow.  I LOVE being her teacher.
• Knowing I'm giving her a jump start on her education.
• Extra activities.  Since she isn't stuck at school all day, we have time for her to take dance and piano lessons, Awana's at church, Library day and story time, and soon.. girl scouts.

Another reason that I feel strongly about homeschooling which has nothing to do with education, is the public school environment.  Having taught in public schools for over 9 years, I know what the kids are like these days and that at younger and younger ages things are getting worse and worse.  5 and 6 year olds are talking about things that they shouldn't even know about yet.  I can't control what other kids learn from their houses and their parents, and if KJ were in school I wouldn't be able to keep her from hearing things from other kids.  At home we can introduce her to the world in a way we feel is appropriate and at the correct age.  Now some people may say that is being over protective but I feel like it is me being a responsible parent.  

As far as how KJ feels about homeschooling.... she loves it!  She keeps asking me if I'm going to be her teacher next year too :)  We have decided that as long as she is happy with homeschooling we will continue to homeschool.  If she ever wanted to try public or private school we would let her.  But until then we are having a blast and lovin' learning!!!!

What's for Dinner Wednesdays - Chicken Casserole

This is my grandmother's super easy 4 ingredient chicken casserole recipe.  It is one of my families favorite dinner that I fix on a biweekly basis :)

What you need:

1 or 1.5 lbs of boneless chicken breast

1 can cream of celery

8 oz sour cream

1 box stove top dressing (I use cornbread dressing you can use whatever flavor you like)

Directions:

Boil chicken in pot until cooked, let it cool off and shred into your baking dish.

I usually use a 9x13, it depends on how much chicken you are fixing.

In separate mixing bowl combine the cream of celery and sour cream.  Once they are mixed together, add it as a layer on top of the chicken.

Fix the stove top according to the box, then add to the very top of your casserole.

Put in oven at 350 for 30 mins.  

We rounded out our dinner with some homemade mashed potatoes, fresh carrots, and crescent rolls.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!