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These are the archives of the past--from December of 2007 to October of 2011.

To read the newer adventures and ponderings of Hesses Madhouse, click on the button at the top of the right hand side of this blog, or click here.

New Start

Last night, I tried to revamp this blog.  I was attempting to place a different header up top, but I received a message that said I had no more room for photos.  WHAT?!  I had never heard of this before.

Well...the photos that you find on this blog are linked from Picasa web albums, and I guess I have too many.  In order to keep going on blogger, I have to eliminate some of those photos which will then, in turn, remove them from my blog posts.  I'm not sure that I'm willing to do that yet.

I tried to create a new blog, but duh!  It still links to the same account and therefore draws from the same Picasa account.  That just wasn't going to work.

So, for now, I am working on creating a WordPress account.  So far I don't love it.  You can't do all the cute things you can with Blogger, so I'm trying to work through all the ins and outs of that.  It will definitely be a learning process, and it's also certain to take quite a bit of time that I don't really have right now with school going on.  I hope you'll be patient with me.

Here is the address to the new blog: http://hessesmadhouse.wordpress.com/.  If you have any advice or comments for me, I'd love to hear them.  Thanks for being patient in this.

Morgan's Grandmother's Update - Monday

"Morgan had a fairly quiet day. The PEDS had a day of reverse trick or treating today. The hospital volunteers and staff dressed in costumes and brought treats to all of the children. Sponge Bob and friends came by; but the best was the ORANGE, three/ legged, poodle with a GREEN tail, that did cool tricks for BT.

"I am spending the night with Morgan so [Morgan's parents] and BT can spend a night at home. Tomorrow at 11:30 Morgan will be moved to...the hospice facility on the...Medical Center campus. It is a beautiful setting, with medical, emotional, and physical support. Morgan will have access to the same level of care as he is receiving at this point in PICU. (The biggest change will be not having to use a public restroom 40 feet down the hall and past the security doors.)

"We are all grateful for each day with Morgan - he is a strong child. Thank you for your letters of encouragement and Victory Morgan cheers!"

Basic Cream Soup Recipe

We had a special guest for dinner last night.  It was just something I felt I should do knowing that his wife was out of town and he was living the bachelor's life for awhile, Saturday, we invited him to join us for Sunday dinner.  When I invited him, I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner, and I didn't know that Sunday was his BIRTHDAY.  I found that out bright and early Sunday morning on facebook (good ol' facebook).

We started in on the birthday cake.  That was easy.  It was the figuring out what to make for dinner that was a little more tricky.

I decided that I'd make the bread bowls and a soup.  I found a recipe online, but didn't have all that it asked for, so I did my own thing.   As I made it, I realized that the base of this soup can really be used with any ingredients, so here's what I did, but you can throw in anything you want.


Basic Soup
Throw the following into a crockpot:
1 large bag frozen vegetables--I used a Tuscan mix--peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.
You can use fresh veggies too, but if you do, saute them in a pan first until they're tender, but not soggy.
cooked meat--I used chicken that I chopped and shredded, but you could use browned ground beef, or probably some chopped up pork (I'm not sure about beef, but what do you have to lose? Give it a shot.)
spices--I used thyme and paprika
salt and pepper to taste
you could probably also throw in some onion or garlic for flavor

Now, for the yummy part:
Make a cream sauce with equal parts butter and flour--I used (for our large group) 1 C. of each, but a more practical amount would be 1/4 C. of each.
Gradually pour in chicken broth.  I used four cans, and I threw in a can of cream of chicken soup to boot, but if you do 1/4 C. of butter and flour, use 1 C. chicken broth.  The cream of chicken is completely optional.
Stir this sauce into the veggies and meat.

If you'd like, grate some cheese into it or do it before you serve it.

You can also throw in some pasta, but cook it slightly before you do, or throw cooked pasta in right before you serve it.  I think the second option is the one I'd choose.  I always seem to end up with soggy, nasty pasta if I cook it in my crockpot.

Let the soup cook on low for about three hours.


I highly recommend this soup served in the bread bowls.  We served this with a Caesar salad.  It seemed to be just right for a Sunday night.  By the way, we have afternoon church, and we get out at 4pm, so I made the bread bowls around 12:30pm and let them rise while we were at church and set the soup to cook at that time too.  It was all ready to go when we got home.

Hope you try it and hope you love it.  If you try some good combinations, let me know.  I'd like to try your creations too.  Enjoy!

PHEW!

This past week was just a bit too insane.

Last night, I fell asleep watching a movie with #5.  This is something I never do.  It's been just one of those one thing after another after another after another kinds of weeks.

I woke at 5am and went upstairs.  I checked the time and decided that while the house was quiet, I'd go through the power point to get things ready for tonight.  It's amazing how quickly this whole exercise grabs my heart every time.

Kids started to wake up.

Next thing I knew, there was a phone call reminding me that I was supposed to be at a meeting.  Ugh!  Where had the time gone?

Well, I had fallen asleep in my jeans and hoodie the night before, so I was already dressed, I guess.  I contemplated changing, but decided I was already late, so what the heck.

Now that #2's party is over and soccer season is done and there is only one more cross country meet and tonight's fireside is over, I think I can breathe again. 

The delightful thing is now that all the Halloween costumes are taken care of, I don't think there's anything out of the ordinary this week.  It'll be nice to have life back to normal.