Recent Goings-on

Will is continuing his adventures on the potty.  He even tells us he needs his "privacy" sometimes!  Mommy taught him that word when she was working with him on #2.  :-)  Even after one successful "go," he is NOT interested in any more attempts.  Even with a standing bribe of M&Ms.  It will happen, right??!!

Will has enjoyed making phone calls to Meme and Pawpaw and Memaw and Pepaw.  He was on a streak of making calls every evening after supper.  I think the grandparents enjoyed this!!

Instead of just letting him play with the Guitar Hero guitar, Mark decided to show how to "wear" it.  Will did him proud by showing that he knew what to do with it right away.  Between the guitar and the piano at Meme and Pawpaw's house, I think we have a musician on our hands!

Matt has introduced us to a new card game called Fluxx, which he received as a Christmas gift.  Here's a quick description of the game from the game's website:

The card game with ever changing rules! It starts out simple, with just the Basic Rule card: draw one card and play one card during each player's turn. But New Rule cards quickly make things chaotic.

Even the object of the game will often change as you play, as players swap out one Goal card for another. Can you get the Rocket to the Moon before someone changes the goal to Death by Chocolate?

I have found some wonderful recipes on Pinterest, and I tried a couple this past week.  One is "Cake Batter Dip," which I found here.

Cake Batter Dip

1 (18 ozs) box cake mix

1-1/2 c. yogurt

1 container Cool Whip (I used light)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until blended.  Cover & refrigerate! Serve with graham crackers or vanilla wafers.

Pictured above is my first masterpiece - I used a Strawberry cake mix with vanilla yogurt.

Pictured above is my second masterpiece - I used Funfetti cake mix with vanilla yogurt.

(Out of my two attempts, I preferred the Strawberry!)

Another recipe that I LOVE was "Easy Crockpot Potato Soup," which I found here.  I LOVE that it is SO easy and SO delicious!!

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese {Don’t use fat free - it won't melt!!!}

In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!!

NOTE: For today's soup (pictured above), I added a can of corn and did a trick with the cream cheese.  The first time we made the soup, we noticed the cream cheese did not melt all the way.  When it was time to put the cream cheese in today, I microwaved it for about 30 seconds, then blended it with a bit of the soup in a mini food processor.  This was definitely worth it - SO creamy!!

After a nap one afternoon this week, Will held a concert in the kitchen.  A little "Mr. Sun" and "Jingle Bells" were on the lineup.  Pants on the head were a plus for concert-goers.