american idol....

i apologize for falling asleep last night while i watched the show. i can't say what the cause was for sure, but it could have either been the fact i have been watching 2 babies this week, or the performances. i watched them again today, and i'm leaning a bit more toward the performances.

jason- uh, why? that's the second week in a row that i just want my question answered. are you trying to lose? do you have *gulp* someone waiting for you at home? why are you trying to lose?

brooke- well, same question as above. are you trying to lose? is it that much pressure, or are you just wanting to go home to your hubby? i can't understand how you could be sooooo good, and yet fall apart so quickly!

davey- well, yours was the performance that put me to sleep. i am starting to think that you need to go home, and spend some quality time with your radio. that was boring with a capital B.

david c- bravo! need i say more? just give him the title and lets be done.

syesha- good first song, second song was much better. i hope you get to stick around a little longer.

i am hopefully going to get around to a non american idol post tonight. i have to take the oldest to get a haircut. his suggestion, not mine. (this is a huge improvement!)

welcome miracle monday readers

today, i will tell you about my mom. when my mom was 31, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. (she had never had HPV) she had to have a radical hysterectomy (her uterus, cervix, and lymph nodes were removed, but she was able to keep her ovaries), and recovered. she didn't tell us (kids) that it was cancer, my dad told us...after her surgery. they had been split up for about 6 months when she had her surgery, but he still wanted to be there for her...and us.

this isn't the miracle.

two years ago, my mom was having problems with pain in her back and abdomen. she went to the doctor and found out she had a cyst or tumor on her ovary the size of a softball. she had already had problems with her thyroid having tumors (non cancerous), but the doctor was sure that she had ovarian cancer. she had surgery, the doctors took out the tumor and both her ovaries, and thank God it wasn't cancer. the doctors were mystified. she had been so sure she would have to tell my mom she cancer. my mom said, "God told me it was just a tumor, and i was going to be ok."

for more miracles, go see beth at http://beth-amomslife.blogspot.com .
please continue to pray for jessica and her family. the numbers haven't looked good.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessicainchiostro

thanks everyone.

twice baked potatoe casserole

am i making your mouth water? are you dreaming of potatoes, garlic, bacon and cheddar cheese? i'm making this fabulous dish for my niece's first communion. this is something the family has come to expect from me at every big family get together. of course who could blame them. my own kids love this dish. which is high praise, considering everything else i make they turn their collective noses up at. i'm not joking, there are very few dishes i make that they actually like...well, let me rephrase that, there is very few dishes they like better than anyone else's. my spaghetti is ok, but grandma's is better. my fried chicken is ok, but aunt debbie's is way better. you get the drift. no one has even tried to make this. they are all scared to be compared to me (ha ha ha). anyway, i think they are scared to make it because i don't go by a recipe (a fact that bugs my mil) i go by feel. here's the "recipe".

TWICE BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE
(feeds at least 20)
5-7 pounds of red potatoes
1 large tub of sour cream
2 sticks of real butter
2-3 pounds of cheese
a table spoon or 2 of minced garlic
bacon bits...3 or 4 bags (or make your own- pound or 2)
milk (not sure about this, at least a cup, or more)

boil the potatoes. pre-heat the oven to 375. mash them with the butter, add milk until really creamy, add sour cream, bacon bits, and garlic, mix some more. add cheese last. mix pretty well. put into a couple of large casserole dishes, or one of those big throw away alum. pans. put into the oven and cook until the edges are brown and the center is getting a gold color.
*if you use shredded cheese, you can hold some back and put it on top. i personally use blocks of cheese that i cut into smallish chunks. just personal preference.
**i leave chunks in my potatoes. what can i say, i like chunks. i mash them, but leave some lumps. again, just personal preference.

this is a hard dish to screw up. seriously, if i haven't screwed it up yet (and i've been making it for years now) it'd be pretty hard for anyone to screw up!

now, i'm going to head to the store, take a shower, and then head to the party.

enjoy the beautiful weather!

lots of updating...

well, updating may not be the "right" word for it but...

bacon-bits (aka trudy or bebe) went to the neighbor's farm for grace's field trip today. she was there for about an hour. it was pretty hot, and she was a pooping fiend. the field trip went pretty well. they had cows and calves (really cute ones), chickens and chicks, ducks, a lamb, a couple of rabbits, and a horse. the kids had a blast.

i feel like crap today. my head is killing me! we ran out of tea 2 days ago and i haven't bought any yet, and i have the worst caffeine headache! add to that the cough i have, and yes i have been a little bit crabby. i guess i should get in to the doctor, but when would i find the time? i'm hoping it's just allergies, but i doubt it.

american idol...well, andrew loyd weber night was great for some, and not so great for others.

syesha: i think the judges were right, she found her strength here. she's made for broadway. i also found out my hubby has a bit of a crush on her. a woman can tell. it's ok though, it's only fair after all the comments i've made about that adorable jason castro.

jason castro: uh, memories? seriously? couldn't find a better song that suited you? not that it was a bad performance, i just didn't get it.

carly: i don't usually care for her, but i liked her performance. she did a great job with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and i really did enjoy it.

brooke: i don't get it, does she want to go home? is that why she's been blowing it lately? she can't seem to pull off songs that are anything but happy-go-lucky types of songs. couldn't she have found one of those kinds of songs?

davy a: great job on the song. i liked it. not head over heels for it, but i liked it. pretty solid performance.

david cook: i liked it ok. it wasn't my favorite performance of his, but he did ok. i have to agree with simon there, i like the grit to his voice. he didn't have it there. i don't know that he'll be doing broadway anytime soon, but he doesn't need it.

i don't do the "who's going home" picks, but i will say that syesha stole the show. finally!

please continue to pray for jessica and her family.

miracle monday

first off, i would like to thank everyone who has prayed for jessica and her family. if you would like to see the impact it has had, please go to her caring bridge site.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessicainchiostro
read her last journal entry...

as for the miracle...
my hubby is the sixth of seven children. the oldest five were born in a five and a half year spread (yes, my mother in law is a saint) and my husband was born nine years after the fifth, and five years later his younger brother came along. this is just some background info on his family, so you can see where my sister in law was coming from.

my husband's oldest sister is the most maternal woman i have ever met. she was born to be a mom. she helped to raise my husband and his younger brother. she couldn't wait to be a mom. she and her husband started trying for a family when she was in her late twenties. a year went by, no pregnancy. she started seeing doctors. they couldn't find anything wrong with her. they put her on fertility drugs and hormones, still no pregnancy. she was miserable. her husband was miserable. they wanted a child so badly.
they had been trying for 3 or 4 years when everyone found out about that i was pregnant. it tore my poor sister in law up, knowing that she had been trying so hard for so long, and here we were trying not to and get a baby. it was so hard on everyone.
she went to a new doctor after our son was born. low and behold, he found a tumor the size of a softball in her uterus. her womb was the size it should be if she was three or four months pregnant. all of the medications she had been taking, had worked, but with the tumor there, she miscarried each pregnancy before she missed her period. she never even knew she had been pregnant. they removed the tumor in november, she was pregnant in december, and our nephew was born in august, two weeks before my oldest child's first birthday!
my nephew is my oldest's best friend. he's a great kid, smart, funny, friendly and helpful. he's also stubborn, and has a bit of a wild streak. he has enriched our lives.

for more miracles check out beth's blog http://beth-amomslife.blogspot.com/
please keep praying for jessica and her family! it's making a difference!