Sick...

Now that Daddy is gone for a few days, Lucas decided it would be a perfect time to get sick. Last night I headed to bed (way too late) and went to take Logan to the bathroom (we do this every night). As I walked past Lucas' room, it smelled bad and I thought he must have pooped. When I was taking Logan back to his room, I smelled it again and this time I was pretty certain it was throw up.

I got Logan in bed and went to check on Lucas and he had thrown up all over his entire bed. Apparently he slept through it because it looked as if he would throw up and then move to a clean spot and then repeat the process. There was only a tiny bit on the floor right by his bed, so I could tell he didn't even get up. He sleeps in a blanket sleeper because he likes to sleep on the floor, so it was all crusted over and so was his hair. I got him up and bathed him, and put clean stuff on his bed. He was running a low grade temp, but nothing too bad. He did NOT want to go back to bed.

I was starting to feel sick from being up so late. I finally convinced him he had to go to bed and I made it into bed around 5AM. He slept until 10:30 and has not thrown up again. However, now he has diarrhea, but I can deal with that easier since he is in diapers. He just fell asleep on the floor and he doesn't do that anymore.....so, I know he isn't 100%. Anyway, now I'm hoping that Logan and I make it through without catching it!

Scratch him being asleep on the floor. I went through the living room and he woke up. I put a mat on the floor and he is now laying there watching Spongebob (and Molly decided to join him). Certainly isn't like my active little boy.......

Menu Plan....Tuesday??

Well, I'm a day late this week and I really don't have much to share. How's that for a plan?

Yesterday my hubby flew out on a last minute trip to CA to see his grandmother. She was hospitalized a little over 2 weeks ago and we were told she wouldn't have long to live. She does seem to be doing better, but with hubby starting a new job soon, he won't have any time off for a while. If he was going to go, it had to be now. So, Sunday night the ticket was bought and he left the next day. So, that leaves me and the boys. Last week when I bought the kale salad ingredients, I bought enough for us to have it a couple of times, but since hubby is gone, there is still enough for me to have it twice. Also, hubby pulled some hamburger meat out of the freezer that I needed to use, so I did that tonight.

Below is my dinner for the week. For the boys, I have mac and cheese (hubby made a batch of homemade on Sunday), hotdogs, various kinds of sandwiches, and oatmeal.

Tuesday: I decided to try this burger out! Yum! I almost didn't pause long enough to take the photo! (I made two, so will have the other to eat this week as well.) I cooked the onions longer than she did and I used Cholula instead of Tabasco...I just like it better!



Wednesday: kale salad (Easy because I have all the veggies ready to go except for the kale!)

Thursday: leftover burger

Friday: ??? Hubby comes home!

Saturday: ??

Finally!!

I decided to enter this in Tackle it Tuesday for Jan. 27th because it is my most recent project and I'm pretty proud of it. Plus, after getting to this point, I want a break from projects for a while....LOL!

This week we finally finished up something we started more than 3 months ago. The day before my husband found out he was being laid off, we started some work in our house and there was no turning back. Perfect timing, right? We had signed a contract to have a new drain system and sump pump installed in the basement and also a new window well and basement window. To save a little money, we tore out the old paneling and wall frame ourselves. Oh....and a MASSIVE brick wet bar. Man, that was HARD work. Once it was out, we had to carry out all the rubble and since we only have a minivan, we just dumped it into the back yard until we could deal with it. Later we rented a U-haul truck and loaded it all into it and took it the dump. Um, don't tell U-haul that we used their truck for more than moving furniture....LOL! They asked me that when I called...I certainly didn't want to tell them, "No, we plan on loading a crap ton of junk in the back and taking it to the dump". We were careful and lined the back of the truck with a tarp and they never knew what we had done...LOL!

To save even more money, we decided to put it all back together once the hired out work was done. Now, we are not professionals, so it is not perfect, but I think we'll be able to tape and mud it just fine. Oh, one more thing. Our house is approaching 40 years old and nothing is square in here. That means that a square piece of drywall is not guaranteed to fit in the corner without some adjustments. First, we had to put new Dry-Loc paint on the wall. Then hubby built a new wall frame with a vapor barrier attached to it(I don't know if that is what it is called or not), then we installed new electric for 8 outlets, one switch and 4 wall sconces. Once that was done, we put up insulation (something that was completely lacking before!!) and then it was time to hang drywall. We bought ourselves a T-square to help with making the cuts needed for the outlets. Sounds pretty straight forward, but remember, nothing is square in our house! Then, add to that we found out after making all cuts except on our final piece of drywall that our T-square wasn't square after all. No wonder our cuts were off e.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e time! Luckily, we were able to just buy the large outlet covers to hide the larger holes :). Anyway, this was no easy task and we aren't done, but we've made MAJOR progress! Once we get some money flowing back into the house, we'll tape, mud, sand and paint, then get a new floor in there!

You can see the sump pump in the floor under the ladder. You can also see a pattern on the floor by the wagon where the bar used to be. Also, we presently use it for our freezer, storage, and our setup for wireless throughout the house. Eventually we will clear it of the junky furniture!

I didn't take before pictures really because the room was so dark and dungeon like. I hated it! However, I wanted to make sure we had proof of just how big and hideous that wet bar really was!

Before:
The reason we got our sump pump. We didn't know the full extent of the damage until we got the paneling down. The sump pump is now in this corner.
The dinky window and rusted out aluminum window well....and weeds..LOL! Oh, and dryer lint since our dryer was vented through there, too.
Speaks for itself!



After:

Baltimore Aquarium (WW)...

The Good Ones....

After posting this post about my pictures of the boys in front of the tree, I thought I should post a few of the good ones, too. Honestly, none of them were great, but I tried! The boys (mostly Lucas) just weren't up for it and I didn't want to try again because I really wanted to get my tree down and the house back in order!

Menu Plan Monday--

I didn't do my meals in the order planned last week, but I did get to all but two of them. We are headed in the right direction!! We didn't have the beans/potatoes/cornbread, but I ran out of potatoes and I remembered that I have some white cheddar cheese to use up, so planned in the pumpkin enchiladas.


Monday--leftover chili cheese fries

Tuesday--grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (It just sounds good!)

Wednesday--chicken and rice casserole, carrots, Syrian green beans (carried over from last week)

Thursday--kale salad
(Since posting this originally, my husband has tried it and loves it, too! YAY!)

Friday--pumpkin enchiladas, simple peas, rice (We've had the enchiladas once and really liked them!)

Saturday--leftovers

Anything we don't get to this week will be carried over to next week.


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Picky eaters....

When I took Logan to his 6 year well visit, the doctor talked to me about him being a picky eater. The talk came about when the doctor asked Logan if he eats breakfast everyday. Logan said that he did. The doctor asked him what he ate and Logan answered that he eats all of kinds of things. The doctor pushed further asking what kind of things. "Oh, I eat things like pop tarts...." The doctor looked at me and said, "Mom is sitting over there thinking don't say it, don't say it". I told him that I knew he would say pop tart because he had one that morning. The doctor then asked me if Logan was a picky eater. Um, YES! He told me not to focus on it too much because Logan was at a healthy weight (25th percentile for height and weight). He also told me that kids tend to outgrow it around 6 years old. I crossed my fingers!

Well, a few months have passed and the doctor seems to be right on. Logan is starting to try new foods! I try to remember to give them to him, but sometimes I don't just out of habit. A few nights ago I made pancakes, eggs, and sausage for dinner. Eggs are one of the things that I've avoided ever since he tried them and threw up in his plate! YUCK! I put pancake and sausage on his plate. He saw the eggs on my plate and asked what they were. I told him eggs and he asked for some. Hubby told him he doesn't even like eggs. Logan responded, "Yeah, but I'm starting to try new foods". So, I gave him some eggs. He ate them all and asked for more. I gave him more and he ate those too. He finished everything on his plate and asked for more pancakes and eggs! Amazing! What has made it even harder is that Logan and Lucas seem to prefer different things. Lucas loves oatmeal, mashed potatoes, and rice. Logan loves pasta and pizza (who doesn't!).

Truth be told, both of my boys are starting to eat more things, which has made my life easier. I understand some may not agree with making special things, but it started when Logan was little and on the small side. He was picky and didn't have weight to spare, so I always tried to make him things I knew he would eat. That has carried over and the same thing has applied to Lucas....he is even smaller than his brother was. One would think I wouldn't have a hard time getting a toddler to eat mac and cheese, but Lucas wouldn't touch it. Last weekend, hubby made homemade mac and cheese and Lucas ate it! The other night we ate out and he shared tortellini with his daddy!

Logan has also started eating oatmeal and chicken and rice. I'm so excited that I have been able to prepare one meal and we have all eaten it! Maybe my days of making 3 separate things at dinner is over!

3 Months....

Yesterday was exactly 3 months from the day that my husband went to work and learned that he would be laid off in 4 days. It has not been an easy road. We had too much in resources to qualify for any help. By the time we would qualify for help, we would be on a slippery slope and I'm not sure we could make it back up.

In the beginning, I think we were both pretty confident that another job would come along quickly. When a month passed, and then another, we started to wonder. It was getting to the point that we really needed to talk about the what ifs. Neither of us wanted to have that conversation. Like if we avoided it, it would all go away. If something didn't come along soon, we'd have to talk about the "B" word----bankruptcy. Now, I know that isn't a horrible thing and certainly needed by some, but my husband has to have good credit to have a chance at getting a job in the field he was in.

So, exactly 3 months from the day he learned he was being laid off, he was offered a JOB!! I truly have no words to describe the feeling. Yesterday he went to 2 job fairs. The first had several companies and the second was a job fair held by just one company. The boys and I tagged along (we didn't go into the fairs...just tagged along to the town and dropped hubby off) because hubby wasn't feeling well and I didn't want him to have to worry about driving. He was at the first fair for an hour and the second one for 3 hours. I was trying not to get my hopes up too much, but thought that perhaps it was taking so long because he was offered a job. The fact of the matter is that he had 5 interviews and from one of them he was offered a job. Now, this was the first job he had an offer letter from, but others had contacted him and they had talked salary (with nothing ever developing from them). Just about everyone we saw and heard from would have been a significant pay cut. We were pretty much accepting that either I would have to return to work or he would have to have a second job. Well, this job actually pays MORE than where he was working. It isn't a lot more, but we are thrilled!

This, of course, is wonderful news, but we aren't out of the woods yet. Money is dwindling way down and the last time he started a new job it took 3 weeks to get a pay check. Hubby was drawing unemployment, but it wasn't even enough to cover our mortgage. Once he starts work, we will have NO money coming in at all (oh...aside from my work at home thing where I make $100-$200 a month....I'll try to work more this month to help out). Things will be tight, but I think we'll pull through. Through all of this, we've learned that we rally need to sit down, make a budget, and then stick to it!!

Carousel Ride....

I saw my friend, Christi, doing this contest that iHeartFaces does each week and I had to join in. I'm not great at photo taking, but I do enjoy it. Truthfully, I have a nice camera and haven't taken the time to learn all there is to know about it.

Anyway, this picture was taken in June and was Lucas' first ride on a carousel. He LOVED it!! I think this picture captured it nicely!


And....might I add, it was taken one-handed while holding onto his hands and spinning round and round....LOL!

Cannon Ball Chicken...

I got this recipe from my sister, who got it from her friend, Molly. So YUMMY!

Cannon Ball Chicken

The ingredients:

Chicken Breasts or thighs, rinsed and pat dry, 4-6
Chopped Green Chilies 2 small cans
Sharp cheddar cheese grated about 2 cups
cream of chicken soup 1 can
green chili enchilada sauce 1 can
Seasoning: 2 cloves fresh garlic, seasoned pepper, oregano 1/8 teaspoon, cilantro (optional--I omit),chili powder, generous shakes. Or if you have Adobo you can eliminate the oregano & cilantro from above.


Place rinsed, dried chicken in a shallow baking dish. Season both sides of chicken with seasoning. Scoop cream of chicken soup onto the chicken. It will be thick, so you may need to use more than I can. Add green chilies next, and top with sharp cheddar cheese. You can be generous with the cheese because after it is cooked it will create a very tasty sauce that you can scoop with tortilla chips.

Bake in oven at 350 for about 75 minutes. Cooking times vary so start checking chicken at 60 minute point.

Serve with warm tortilla chips or flour tortillas. Nice condiments include: chopped tomato, chopped onion, jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole, black or green onions.

*****Here is my sister's adapted version for the crockpot....
Add frozen chicken breasts (3 breasts) and seasonings. Add one cup water and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

Remove chicken, chop and set aside.
Add remaining ingredients into liquid in crockpot and mix.
Add chicken and cook on low for one hour.

serve over rice.


*****and, here is how I made it.....
I cooked the chicken as my sister directed in the crockpot. I didn't want to wait another hour, so I had pre-heated the oven to 350. I followed her instructions about adding the remaining ingredients (except for cheese) and poured it all into a casserole dish. I topped it with the cheese and stuck it in the oven until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. You could even sitck it in the microwave to make it faster. I did serve it over rice and it was yummy. But, it would be good with chips or in burritos!!

Updated on Jan. 15:
Here is yet another way to cook this. I was planning on serving this over rice, so I took a short cut. I wasn't sure this would all fit in one oval corning ware dish, so I used two. You could just use a 9x13, but it has to cook covered, so I opted for the 2 Corning ware instead. I took 4 chicken breasts and cut them into small pieces. I put two breasts in each dish. I sprinkled in some salt (I didn't use the other spices this time), added one can of the soup, one can of the green chilies, and half of the can green enchilada sauce into each dish. This is the lazy part. I didn't want to cook rice separately, so I added it in, too. I put 1 cup of rice in each dish along with 1 1/4 cups of water. I stirred it all up and put it in the oven covered and baked for 50 minutes at 375 degrees. Once it was done (be sure to check it first), I took it out and added the cheese and then put it back in the oven for the cheese to melt. It worked perfectly!

Where's my whistle...

Logan is officially growing up. Sunday afternoon he came to me about his tooth being loose. Now, I knew it was loose. I had just brushed and flossed his teeth the night before and thought it would be a few days before he lost it. Anyway, on Sunday he came to me and told me he could feel underneath his tooth. I looked and it was WAY looser than it was the night before! He told me he wanted to pull it, so I told him how to do it. I told him it might hurt a little and would probably bleed some, too. He couldn't get it pulled, but didn't want me to touch it. After a couple of hours, he came to me and told me thought it was ready to be pulled and asked me to do it. I pinched the tooth between my fingers and pulled. He whined a little bit, so I was going to just let go and tell him to try it himself, but when I pulled my hand out of his mouth, there was his tooth! He was very excited and ran to look in the mirror! So, the tooth fairy left him $5, a new Hotwheel, and a chocolate star. The next morning he told me it wasn't what he thought he would get, but he still liked it. he had seen an episode on Little Bear where the tooth fairy left a whistle. Well, the tooth fairy just wasn't prepared! Note to self......go buy a whistle! Oh, and in case you are thinking, "Why a whistle?". Well, when you loose a tooth, you can't whistle anymore....LOL! Of course, Logan couldn't whistle with all of his teeth, but he was still expecting to get a whistle. I told him the tooth fairy must have run out!

Menu Plan Monday..

This is my first week to plan meals since my in-laws were here at Thanksgiving!! I got tired of trying to figure out what we were going to eat each night, so knew I needed a plan. I haven't posted my menu in a while, but still had been planning up until Thanksgiving. My husband lost his job in Oct. and is still without a job. I'm trying to keep grocery shopping to a minimum because we have very little money coming in. This is probably the main reason I knew we had to get back to planning.

*=new recipe

Sunday--leftover sweet and spicy kielbasa, homemade mac and cheese, and carrots

Monday--chili cheese fries*

Tuesday--homemade choc. chip toasted coconut buttermilk pancakes* with fresh whipped cream, sausage, eggs (I will add in the coconut and choc. chips because I had that at a local restaurant and it was sooooo good!)

Wednesday--chicken and rice casserole, carrots, Syrian green beans

Thursday--beans, oven fried potatoes, cornbread

Friday--cannonball chicken with rice, corn, beans

Saturday--leftovers

Anything we don't get to this week will be carried over to next week.


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Christmas Camel (WW)

You can click to enlarge if you wish to read.

I'm slow....

I was sick on Christmas eve and still not feeling 100% on Christmas day. We all stayed in pajamas all day. Well, I finally showered and got dressed around 9PM when I went to CVS for some medicine. Anyway, I had not done Christmas pictures in front of the tree yet so our tree has been left up waiting for the pictures to be taken. I finally got around to doing them yesterday. Man! I don't know why I forget how hard it is to get a good picture of my two boys together. I did finally manage one decent picture, but not before I got a few new grey hairs.....and yes, I really do have grey hairs. Anyway, here is one that I thought was too funny not to share. It truly does depict the picture taking process. Quick.....press the button, he's sitting still AND not crying/screaming.....