Five on Friday

1- I do not like drinking water. 

It literally makes me gag. 

It is a problem because I love having a drink at all times and I turn to diet soda a little too often. 

So I have found a happy alternative to the regular water that most people drink... Sparkling water! 

I am obsessed and buy Perrier by the case at Costco. 

2- Last night was my very first parent teacher conference. 

              {first day of school pics}

It was fun to sit across from my son's kindergarten teacher and have her critique his skills when it comes to pencil holding, coloring and making friends. And even more fun to have her tell me all the things she loves about him. It makes sending him away for three hours of the day much easier knowing that the teacher is picking up on and falling in love with the same things that I love about him.

His biggest downfall when it comes to kindergarten is that he likes to flirt with the girls a little too much. (Why am I not surprised?)

3- My grocery list this week consisted of soup and the ingredients to make soup. Cold weather must be making an appearance. (Can it be next summer yet? I miss summer.) 

My all time favorite soup recipe. That everyone will love. Enjoy~

Chicken Taco Soup (slow cooker recipe)

PREP TIME 15 Min 

COOK TIME 7 Hrs 

READY IN 7 Hrs 15 Min 

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, chopped 

1 (16 ounce) can chili (or kidney) beans 

1 (15 ounce) can black beans 

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce 

1 (12 fluid ounce) can chicken broth 

2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained 

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning 

2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts 

shredded Cheddar cheese (optional) 

sour cream (optional) 

crushed tortilla chips (optional) 

DIRECTIONS

Place the onion, chili (or kidney) beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours. 

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

4- TGIF! Dinner and a concert tonight!  My boys are going to sleep over at my brother and sister in laws house. I can't wait to get dressed up and spend the night with my sexy husband and some good friends. Sometimes you just gotta break free and enjoy yourself. Right?!

5- I believe in being a hands on mom. Teaching kids through activities and experiences as much as possible. 

I also love that I get to be the one that makes the rules. On Monday I picked a watermelon from our garden and found a place on the lawn and I dropped it in front of them. They watched it crack open with unbelief and then I told them to dig in with their (clean) bare hands. They were in heaven as they scooped chunks out with their fingers and slurped the juice out of the shell. I highly recommend this activity to all and every mom out there.