Italian Sausage Soup

There is nothing better on a cold day than a nice, hot bowl of soup! It's a very easy meal! This recipe is super simple and delicious!

{Ingredients}

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage with the casing removed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 (14.5 oz.) cans of beef broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can of stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb. of small pasta (I use elbow macaroni)
grated Parmesan cheese

{Time to make soup}

Brown sausage, over medium high heat. Stir to break up the meat.  Pour off the fat and add the green pepper and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the broth and stewed tomatoes and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the pasta is done.

Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

The Winter Blahs and Other Random Stuff!

I spent a lot of time this week praying for spring to arrive! The beginning of the week started off rainy, but warm. Then another cold snap hit and here we are, stuck inside with nothing to do. The kids are bored and so am I! Fights are breaking out right and left as everyone gets on each others nerves. *Sigh*

Tomorrow the kids are going to be in a Wii Bowling Tournament to benefit our Cooking With Kids Relay For Life Team! It should be fun and will hopefully earn a lot of money for a good cause.(and get us out of the house for a while!)

Being trapped in the house has made me want to cook like crazy! I am afraid we will not be able to move when spring finally does arrive!

Felicia got her report card this week and her grades were excellent! She loves school! Michael and Brandon on the other hand, do not like school and I am bracing myself for their report cards. I'm not too worried about Aaron, because I get a report every couple of weeks from his school and he is doing very well! Like me, he loves math and science!

Madelyn has been spending a lot of time taking care of "her babies". She is getting a lot of practice for when Stella arrives! Although, as she says, "I'm not a changer, I'm a feeder!"  That is until I told her that babies sometimes spit up, now she says, "then I'm a feet washer". I guess she is going to play it safe and stay away from all the gross parts! Ha!

All the colds and other yucky sickness have finally left the Adams' house and I hope they stay away.

Well, that's about all I have for now! How are you staying sane this winter?

Friday Follow

It's Friday! So, you know what that means, Friday Follow! Be sure to check it out!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:

• * Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add to one blog linky.
• * Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.  They will follow you back.
  
• * Follow as many blogs as you like
• * Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
• * Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow

The Blog Hop is the same at each of our three hosts blogs so you do not have to add your blog at each site. Just one - but you can follow each host blog.  Here is the great part, we will follow you back.

Straight Talk on Parenting

Find out what 1,000 moms thought about raising kids today! See how this compares to you as a parent!

Friend Makin' Monday

It's time once again for Friend Makin' Monday at {aefilkins}! This week, Amber has asked us to complete the Simple Woman's Daybook. If you would like to join in head on over to Amber's blog! It's a great way to make some new friends!

The Simple Woman's Daybook
Outside my window...the wind is really howling today and the rain is falling steadily.

I am thinking.... I hope the power does not go off again today. It has already been out twice and we had to get the kids ready for school in the dark.

I am thankful...for so many things! God has truly blessed me! I have a wonderful, hard-working husband, five fabulous kids, and a new baby on the way! Life is good!

I am praying...for the people of Haiti! I am in constant prayer that the suffering will come to an end and that people can began to rebuild their lives.

I am reading...Dances With Wolves.

I am creating...a few Valentines decorations for my home.

From the kitchen...not much is going on now, but soon I plan to bake some cookies!

Around the house...there is much to be done! Monday is the day to get my house back in order after the weekend!

One of my favorite things...curling up with a warm blanket and a good book.

A few plans for the rest of the week...some shopping. I need to stock my cupboards!

Now it's time for you to head out and make some new friends! Have a great day!

Orange You Glad It's Saturday?

Today I thought I would join Yaya in her weekly meme where participants get to share their favorite thing. Could be a color like Yaya's favorite, orange, or anything else that you would like to share.

So, in honor of the exciting news we got at the beginning of the week, I am sharing a few pink things!

Felicia snuggling in her pink princess blanket!

A toy that was a gift from Nana and Poppy!

A cozy blanket to wrap the princess in!

The baby's very first piece of bling! A bracelet that was a gift from her Gramma!

To check out more of Orange you Glad It's Saturday? go here!

Friday Follow

Have you been looking for more blogs to follow? Or maybe you would like to gain more followers! Then Friday Follow is the thing for you! It's hosted by Midday Escapades, One 2 Try, and Hearts Make Families!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:

• Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below - Only need to on one blog
• Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots -They  will follow you back
• Follow as many blogs as you'd like to have followers
• Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
• Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow
  

I am looking forward to finding some new blogs to read! Please leave a comment if you are a new follower so that I can come visit you! So wait no longer, link up!





Also, check out The Trendy Treehouse for Follow Me Fridays!

Kreativ Blogger and Honest Scrap!

Today, I am very proud to accept two awards given to me by two fabulous bloggers! I received the first one from Rebecca at Growing Up Our Style! It's  the Kreativ Blogger Award!

The rules for accepting this award are: List 5 things that you may not know about me and pass this award on to 5 fellow bloggers.

5 things about me:

1.  I LOVE the snow! I would be thrilled to have a blizzard! I like taking walks during snow storms, sledding, snow ball fights, I love it all! But, this year I am wishing it was summer already! Maybe that's because our baby is due in June!

2. I love to bake and lately I have been dreaming of one day opening a bakery! You know....in my spare time! HA! I guess that dream will have to wait a few years!

3. When I was very little, everyone called me Shirley Temple because of my curls. Now, thankfully, they have passed that name on to Madelyn. (she hates it as much as I did,lol)

4. I love watching Food Network! More specifically, Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives! If I could travel the country eating at every diner around, I would be one happy camper!

5. At one time in my life, I wanted to be a police officer! Wow, have my goals changed! Now I just want to be a Mommy!

The 5 bloggers that I am passing this award on to are:













Now on to award #2! This one comes from Kristen of Hands, House,  and Heart Full! It's the Honest Scrap Award!

The rules for accepting this award are that I must tell you 10 secrets about me! Secrets?.....I have no secrets;0)

Okay, since I already posted 5 things you may not know about me while accepting the award above, I'll give you 5 more. Deal?

1. I love to dance! I may look like Elaine from Seinfeld while doing it, but who cares!

2. I used to worry constantly about what other people think of me, but not anymore! I love who I am and that is all that matters!

3. I hate when my kids are not with me! Most people think that with 5 kids and 1 on the way that I would love a break from time to time. The truth is, I don't want one!

4.Although I have to follow a schedule to keep things running smoothly around here, I love chaos! You know, those spontaneous bursts of craziness, they keep me "alive"!

5. Because of those "bursts of craziness", I have gone prematurely gray! I mean....REALLY GRAY! I have to color my hair frequently so I don't look 90 years old! LOL!

I am going to pass this award on to:

Good Girl Gone Redneck

Thank you very much for the awards ladies! It makes me smile that you were thinking of me!

Wordless Wednesday-I Miss Summer!

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes For Mom!

Not Quite the Brady Bunch, But Close!

This morning we had our ultrasound and it looks like we are having another, healthy baby GIRL! We are very excited!

More Snowmen!

There is still so much more winter to come, so I thought I would re-post a few snowman activities that we did last year. These can all be found or my retired blog, Just For Fun!

Foot Print Snowmen

Paper towel/toilet paper roll snowman

Packing material snowman

Snowman Bookmarks/gift tags

Potato Print Snowman

Even though it has warmed up a bit, we still can't shake this chill. So, snowmen were the plan again for today! This time we used a potato to create our snowy friend.

1. Cut the potato in half. Then, cut a slice off of each end on one of the halves.

2. Dip the half (that does not have the end cut off) in the white paint and print it on a piece of construction paper.

3.Now, do the same with the larger end of the other half.

4.Finally, flip that half over and use the smaller end to make the head of the snowman.

5. The only thing left to do is decorate your snowman. We used crayons and markers, but any materials would be fine.

Haiti Disaster Relief and My Community

Watching the news and seeing the devastation in Haiti is just heart breaking for me. So sad to see all the destruction and at the same time I am surprised at the strength and unshaken faith of the people of Haiti. It truly is amazing to me! At the top left hand side of my blog, I have added a widget for those of you who would like to donate to the Haiti Disaster Relief Effort. Just click on the button and do what you can! Every little bit helps!

You may also notice that I have added another widget on the right side of my blog. It's my community page from the blog frog. I would be thrilled to have you join me so that we can get some discussions started! I love to hear from you all! Thanks!

Happy 101

Let me first start this post with an apology. I have been a bad bloggy friend. In the past, although I have received a few blog awards for this blog and my retired blogs, I have not been so good at posting them. I am very sorry for that! I am always ever so thankful that you have thought of me, but, I'll admit it, I'm lazy and at times forgetful! But, new year=new start, so I promise to be a better bloggy friend!

With that out of the way, I proudly accept this Happy 101 award given to me by artsy_momma from Handprint and Footprint Arts & Crafts! Please check out her blog! It is awesome!

In order to accept this award, I must list 10 things that make me happy! My pleasure!

1. Waking up every morning knowing that I am a Mom! What an awesome feeling!

2. My hard working Hubby! He is amazing!

3. Having the ability to be a stay at home Mom! It really is the best job ever!

4. Sunshine!

5. Getting crafty with my kids!

6. Cooking and baking! Love it!

7. True friends!

8. Chocolate cake!

9. Turning up the tunes and dancing like nobody is watching!

10. Learning that good people get great news like this!

Now to pass this award on to 10 of my favorite blogs!

1. Yaya Stuff

2. Vickie's Scrapbooking and Tidbits

3. Jeannie's Happy World

4. Muffin Tin Mom

5. Straight Form The Heart

6. Tara in the ATL

7. Funny Days With Mommy and Maddie

8. Casa Camacho

9.Finding Trinity

10. Nobody Listens To The Girl

I could go on! There are so many great blogs out there!

Cotton Clay Snowman Sculpture

Brr, it has been so cold outside! Even though there is snow on the ground, it is much too chilly to go out and make a real snowman, so we made one indoors! We have used many different clay recipes, but this is the first time we tried this one. It's made with cotton.

Here's what you need to make it:
3 cups of cotton balls
2 cups of water
2/3 cups of flour

To make the clay:
1. Tear the cotton into tiny pieces.

2. Mix the cotton and water in a mediun saucepan.

3.Add the flour and stir over low heat until the dough starts to stiffen. This takes about 5-7 minutes.

4. Remove the clay and allow it to cool on some newspaper.

5. When it's cool, you are ready to sculpt. It takes at least 24 hours to dry depending on the thickness of your creation.

 

 

After it's dry!

 

The Ebay Shopper!

Over the past few years, my hubby has become quite an Ebay shopper. Sometimes, he just browses and other times he is very serious about something and stays on top of an item until he gets it. After checking his email and bank account, he always visits Ebay to see if there is anything interesting for him to buy. Yesterday, while checking his account, he discovered that on the previous day, there was a purchase made. He knew he did not make the purchase, so naturally he came to me. No, not me! Time to interrogate the kids! So, he started at the top. Michael? Nope! Brandon? Uh...no! Aaron? Wrong again! Felicia? No Daddy!......Madelyn? Oh yeah!

Our sweet, innocent(four year old) Madelyn bought one of her most favorite things on Earth! A new Pez Dispenser! As soon as Mike showed her the picture of it, her eyes lit up! She recognized it! "I saw that yesterday!"  Hehehe!

So, we learned a valuable lesson here, always log out of your account when you are finished! Hey, at least she didn't buy a car or something else that was expensive!

Time For A Change!

The winter months can be so depressing! I thought that I would add a little bit of early spring to my blog, so that I don't start feeling the blues! I gave my little bloggy space a little makeover!

Wordless Wednesday-My Sick Baby and Her Guardian Dog Lucy

Go here to check out more Wordless Wednesday!

Madelyn+Muffin Tin Monday

Madelyn has not really been feeling well for a few days now, so she hasn't really wanted to eat anything. But, I promised a Muffin Tin and I planned to deliver. Here are a few of her favorite things and my attempt to get something in her belly.

It worked! She was so happy with her tin that she actually ate! Here she is smiling pretty with her Muffin Tin Lunch!

If you would like to join in on all the Muffin Tin Monday fun, check it out here:

My New Year Starts Today!

You may have noticed that I have been absent for a little while. This was definitely not by choice! Our family celebrated a fabulous Christmas with lots of great family time. It was a very relaxing time and a much needed break for us all. But then.....the nasty stomach bug hit the Adams household! Targeting each and every one of us for a week. Not fun at all! I feel terrible that my kids have been sick almost their entire Christmas break, but on the other hand, they did not have to be absent from school. We spent New Year's Eve at home because I was way to sick to go anywhere. I was actually throwing up as the everyone else was watching the ball drop! (sorry, I know, TMI!) Yesterday I spent the entire day on the couch, to weak to do anything. So, our New Year starts today! Things can only get better from here...right? I hope everyone else had a Happy New Year!