The top thing you don't want to hear in the middle of the night...

Oof.

It has been quite the 48 hours in our house.

It started Tuesday night. I was patting myself for an early bedtime (9 pm WOOP WOOP!), then before I knew it, it was 11:30 pm and our 4 year old was running upstairs bawling because "I just puked all over my bed! And the stairs! And the flooooor!"

My husband and I cleaned up as quickly and quietly as we could, went back to bed, then ONE minute later the two year old was screaming "I puuuuuuuuked!"

Ugggggggggggggggggggggggg.

Since their shared bedroom is on the lower level, I slept on the couch...er, laid on the couch, ears wide open for the teeniest of moans alerting me to spring up with bucket in hand. This is a mom-brag here but from there on out I was 8/8 for catching the barf! YEAH BABY!

Between doing that and swapping out laundry, we were all up til 4 am. Woof. Fortunately by morning the boys were feeling great. We still opted for a lazy day- I unfolded the couch bed for them and there was a lot of Daniel Tiger going on.

As a kid I always craved a blueberry muffin after a barf bout so I made a quick batch of box mix for the boys, which they happily ate.

My BFF.

Is it *not* normal to keep a tub of this in your bathroom for extra sheet washing sessions while your washer is stuffed full?

This past weekend my mother in law made a soup that the boys devoured, so I made a version of it myself. If there was ever a day that called for the slow cooker, this was it.

Cabbage Roll Soup
-1 64 oz bottle tomato juice
-1 tablespoon vegetable flavor Better Than Bouillon or one bouillon cube
-2 lbs lean ground beef
-1 large onion, diced
-1 teaspoon minced garlic
-1 large head green cabbage, chopped into 1-2" pieces (see photos for how I did this)
-1 head cauliflower, chopped, with core removed
-1 tablespoon dried parsley
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon pepper
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon onion powder

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, cook beef, onion, and garlic. While that's cooking, pour the tomato juice into the slow cooker. Refill the bottle half full with hot tap water and add bouillon. Shake to combine as best you can, then add that to the slow cooker as well. Add beef mixture and the remaining ingredients. The slow cooker will be jam packed and might seem too chunky, but the cabbage and cauliflower shrink down as they cook and become tender. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Recipe makes 8 heaping servings of roughly 3 cups. Per serving: 250 calories, 19 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber (a good amount!), 8 grams fat, 27 grams protein.

I didn't plan on either of the boys eating this so close to, um, tossing their cookies, but they happily chose this over more bland foods. Good thing they are back to normal and this mama can get some sleep!