My Boy's

This morning I tried to get a picture of the boys sitting by each other but Karsee kept tackling Kaden. This is what I got.

Easy Breezy Recipe # 3

Bean Burritos and Queso

It was pretty good.

- 2 cans of refried beans- I didn't make a full recipe because it just made so much. I just used one can
- 2 1/2 cups of grated cheese - I used Monterrey jack cheese
- (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 1 cup sliced green onions or chopped white onion
- 3 jalapenos deseeded, chopped
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup salsa
- shredded lettuce
- chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/4 cup of beans down center of each tortilla. Top beans with 1/2 - 1 cup of cheese, 1/2 cup of onions and jalapenos.

2. Fold up tortillas folding to seal the end to enclose filling.

3. Put burritos in a baking dish seam side down. Cover with foil. Cook for about 15 min.

4. While burritos are cooking mix sour cream and salsa together to make a dipping sauce. Top burritos with lettuce , tomatoes, and remaining cheese.
Serve salsa mixture with burritos.


Queso

I just used velveeta and rotel and melted it in a crock pot. I do have a awesome queso recipe with meat in it.

He loves to help.

Lately when I fold the laundry Karsee likes to help me in his own little way.

Kaden and Tomatoes

Kaden was asking for some tomatoes the other day and I asked him to wait until dinner. A few minutes later Kaden was very quiet. As a parent I have learned that is never a good thing. When I found Kaden he had gotten a tomato out of the fridge and was in the laundry room eating it like an apple.

This is not the first time. Last time we were at my Nanny's house he found a bucket of fresh picked cherry tomatoes and just about ate all of them before we found him. Which resulted in a tummy ache.

The Office

Tonight is the season premiere of The Office. I am very excited. This is a show Tim and I watch together so it is very special to me.

Scholastic's Book Review - Based On Kaden

I let Kaden pick a few books to order from Scholastics for his school and they came in yesterday. We read them during his reading time last night. Here are the three out of the four I liked.

This is a great book. Kaden wanted this one because they read it at school and he has also seen the movie the book is based on. It is great for the preschool age group. This story is about the alphabet and it rhythms.


I ordered this book based on the information and persuaded Kaden to want it. It's a story about a little Lama that has had enough on a shopping trip and looses his patients and has a tantrum. Mama Lama is very patient and calms everything down. I think parents and kids can get something from this book. Kaden really liked how it talked about whining and tantrums and then showed the Lama calming down and helping. Kaden said "Now that Lama's manners are showing". Which is a theme in his class.


Kaden was very excited about this book. The monster shows up piece by piece and then goes away. This book contains die cuts of the monster as it appears and then the child has the control to tell it to go away and not come back. It has great descriptions and was very captivating for Kaden.





I recommend any of these books if you have preschool age children.

Walking

The past two nights I have walked 1 mile with the boys after dinner. I love it and it is so relaxing to walk around and the boys love it too. By the time I get home Karson is laying back relaxed and ready for bed. Tonight I walked a little faster than last night and I could tell I got a workout. I have also met some new neighbors there are 2 other Moms that walk too.

1 Mile

Our Sunday

Tim left for Dallas this afternoon for his guy retreat. I miss him and the weird thing is I missed the background noise of the football game too.

The boys and I took a good nap this afternoon. I was so tired from the garage sale stuff this weekend.

I have plans to get some cleaning and grocery shoping done during Tims mini-trip.

Tonight when I was getting Karson ready for bed Kaden wanted to hold his little brother.

I think Kaden was squeezing too tight because Baby Brother was done after this picture.

Garage Sale Day 2

Today was ok it was not as busy but we got rid of alot of things we did not sell yesterday. I packed up alot of what was left to take to the Highway 80 Rescue Mission.

I am so tired.

Tim is leaving for Dallas tomorrow. I will miss him.

Garage Sale Day 1

I have been working hard all week to get everything priced and organized. We opened the sale at 7am this morning. It started a little slow but business picked up and we had a pretty good day. I sold so much we cleaned out some more tonight to put out tomorrow.

ET

Do you remember that scene in ET where ET had to hide in the closet in the stuffed animals. That's what Kaden reminded me of when I went in his room today. I got a picture just in time as he popped out.

We Found Snort

A few months ago I posted this. Yes it did take me 5 months to have a garage sale but we found Snort. I had to take a picture of the reunion. He did not forget about snort he has asked for him so many times. I am glad I found him.

Letting Go....

When I had Karson Tim and I knew he would be our last baby. Karson is such a good baby I think sometimes I could add another one but then I come to my senses. With Kaden I kept everything that made it through the first year in good condition. Now when I go through Karsons stuff he has outgrown I have no reason to keep it. It's hard for me to let go of their baby things. This weekend I am having a garage sale. So I am happy to be getting some free space but it is hard for me to let go.

Over the weekend Karson decided that he was done with baby food the downside... I had just bought 2 weeks worth of baby food for him. He still eats cereal but he cries if he sees me come near him with pureed anything. Look at his face he is so happy to have what I call people food.

Bubby

Bubby (Kaden) is a wonderful, gentle hearted, ball of excitement and energy. Listening to him play and talk about things makes me wish this was contagious or they bottled and sold it at Starbucks. His passion owe his passion for things. He is a good big brother too.

Since Kadens birth I have changed so much. Before he was born I imagined and dreamed of what life would be like as a mother. Well it was nothing like that but Kaden showed me a better way. I have learned and I still am learning to let him be a kid, do things that boys do, and dream. I lack patients some times and we but heads but at the end of the day he is still my Bubby. He is a dreamer. Some days he wants to be a Chick-fil-a employee and others he wants to be a Jonas Brother. I know this will change many times in his life.

Today he wants to be Batman....

Ike

After lunch today we drove around the neighborhoods of Longview. Power lines down, trees in the yard. There are many residents still without power. This is a picture of a house we drove by, but not the worst thing we have seen today.

He's Mobile

Karsee is crawling and exploring everything especially if it belongs to big brother. Last night I sat out Kaden's cloths for Church in the morning on the couch and when I came back in the room Karson had gotten all of it off the couch underpants and all.

Ike

We made it through the storm fine. We lost power for a while but it was on in time to make dinner. There are still alot of people in our area without power tonight.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Julie. I hope you are feeling better and have a great Birthday!

My Big Boy

Since Kaden has turned 4 he has grown up so much.

He has concurred so many fears and has been learning new things daily.


1. As of tonight he can spell his first name. I know I may be behind teaching him these things but please understand he is my first child and I tend to underestimate his abilities.

2. He finally road on a motorized ride by choice. This is something he has been scared of.

3. Knows all of his basic shapes.

4. He has been praying for our meals for awhile now but today he came home and had a new prayer from school that is too cute. He also tries to cover his eyes but it ends up looking like he is pretending to have on binoculars or glasses. I had to take a picture.

This has all happened in a few weeks. I know there are a few more but I cannot think of them at the moment.

Some goals I have set to teach Kaden before the end of the year.
1. More about Jesus.

2.Tim's cell phone number and my cell phone number.

3.Letter recognition and sounds. He knows quit a few of them.

4. How to use and hold a pencil and scissors.

5. The Pledge of Allegence. He says it at school and knows bits and pieces of it.


Some things I want to do before the end of the year with Kaden.
1. Go to the State Fair of Texas. I have been telling him about it and how I have gone since I was a little girl. He is really excited.

2. Go to the Gaylord Texan Resort around Christmas. This has become a yearly tradition.

3. Have Kaden participate in the Angel Tree. To pick a child and have him help me with it. I want to teach Kaden to give and to experience helping other people. I am trying to think of more ways to instill this in him on his level and also know what he is ready for at his young age.

Getting Ready for the Storm.. Maybe

Going to the store for groceries before the rain starts. I will be glued to the Weather Channel for the next 24 hours.

Please pray again for our family and friends that had to evacuate the Beaumont area.

Easy Breezy Recipe #2

Quick Chicken Quesadillas

You will need:

- 1 package (6oz.) refrigerated cooked southwest-flavor chicken breast strips -- I purchased a rotisserie chicken for this recipe and it worked fine.

- 8 flour tortillas (6-8 inch)

- cooking spray

- 2 cups of finely shredded colby-monterey jack cheese blend (8oz.)

-1/4 cup sour cream

- small onion -- I purchased a bag of frozen onions already chopped.

- tomato

- Jalapeno (Optional when serving kids. I cut separately and sprinkle on the adults tortillas. Also if you take the seeds out it is not as spicy.)

- lemon

- Cooking spray -- I use a organic canola oil cooking spray

- Butter - Smart Balance

- onion powder and garlic powder

Chop onions and chicken. Saute them in butter in skillet. Break chicken up and put garlic and onion powder on it to taste. remove from skillet to bowl when heated. Clean out chicken and onion pieces. Leave flavor in skillet. Chop tomatoesand jalapeno. Mix the veggies together and sprinkle with lemon.

Keep skillet heated and spray with cooking spray. Butter tortilla and place it in skillet. Sprinkle cheese, chicken and veggie mix on tortilla. Top with another tortilla; spray top of tortilla with cooking spray.

Cook uncovered over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes, carefully turning after 2 minutes, until golden brown and cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, chicken and veggie mixture. To serve cut quesadillas into wedges (I use a pizza cutter). Serve with sour cream and if desired additional salsa.

Tim loves this recipe I have made it many times. Tip: lay out everything in an assembly line because you have to work fast once you get started.

Tooth Number 2

This morning I found Karsons second tooth. He has an ear infection and was breaking through a tooth. He is a tough little guy.

9.11.2001

I was taking Kaden to school this morning and received a twit asking where I was on 9/11. I started thinking where I was and I don't think I will ever forget. I was getting ready for work and was watching Good Morning America. I started watching the footage of the first tower burning when I then watched live as the second plane hit. I was in shock. I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything.

A Visitor and A Sick Family

Carmen came over to spend the day with Kaden. They played and played. Kaden was so tired this afternoon and did not feel well and went to sleep on the floor about 6:30pm. This could mean a very early morning. I hope he is feeling ok to go to school tomorrow. He is looking forward to going.

After a few days of not alot of sleep and a very fussy baby I decided to call the doctor. It is hard for me to tell between teething and sick symptoms. I loaded all 3 kids in the car which is not an easy task and went to the doctor. Karson was a sick little guy he has double ear infections and a bad cold. He was still not sleeping well and very fussy tonight so after Kaden went to sleep I took a drive with Karson. He finally went to sleep and stayed asleep when I moved him to his bed. Today he was very playful one minute and crying the next.

Update on Tim: Tim is still not feeling well. He has some type of virus. If you are like me you missed the New Tunes Tuesday this week. I hope he is feeling better soon.

K-A-D-D-N

To teach Kaden how to spell his name I have been singing him the song BINGO but changed the words to.

There was a boy that had a name and Kaden was his namo. K-A-D-E-N... You know how the song goes.

Kaden has liked it and almost has it down but says K-A-D-D-N..

Left or Right Handed?

For a while now this has been a mystery with Kaden.

Today when I picked Kaden up his teacher told me he has been having some trouble holding his scissors and pencil and to work with him a little more at home.

I have no problem with his teacher talking to me about it and actually love the feedback of how he is doing. I did mention that on many occasion at home if we switch things to his left hand or side he does some things better and has showed some signs of being a lefty. His teacher did go on to say that when she was working with him he did say it didn't feel right could he switch hands.

This has worked with golf, playing his guitar which he did not hold correctly till we switched sides. In the car he could not buckle his seat belt until we moved his seat to click on the left.

My fear is this. Am I encouraging one side over the other? Is he really a lefty? If anyone has any training on how to spot this or has had a child that is a lefty I would love some advice.

This afternoon I would tell him to empty his hands and put them to his side. I then would hand him something and see which hand he would grab it with. I still do not have a clear diagnosis because he grabbed with both.

A Spoon & A Sock

Kaden got out all of Karsees toys today but he would rather play with a spoon and a clean sock he found in the laundry basket

Karson does not normally go around like this but he had a temperature today and did not feel well

Stuck

A couple of days ago I took the bumper out of Karsee's bed because the boy is strong and actually riped parts of it from the crib. He likes to see his room and look around now but is constantly getting limbs stuck. I counted Saturday night the amount of times I went into his room to free him. The final number was 8. Last night he fell asleep like this. He didn't cry about it I guess he was that tired. I did free him after I took the picture.

Karsee

Karsee has been left out of my blog lately. He has some new skills too. He is babbling Dada and Bubba but only Mama when he is crying sometimes. Kaden called me Dada for the longest so I am OK with that.


Karson took off in a full soldier crawl Thursday when I took the boys up to church with me. Kaden set up the play tent and tunnel. Karsee just took off toward it crawled into and through half the tunnel and then got stuck and then Mommy had to save him. He was moving pretty fast.

Happy 9th Month Birthday Karsee.

Easy Breezey Recipe #1

During my last visit with my family my Sister-in-law shared her new cookbook with me. It was full of easy recipes. If you are like me it is hard to come up with new idea's for dinner. I tend to get in a rut. I wrote some of them down and decided to start trying them once a week. Last night I tried the first one.


Breaded Pork Chops
- 1/4 cup original Bisquick mix
- 6 saltine cracker squares, crushed
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 boneless pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick
- 3 tbsp. veg. oil


1. In a shallow container, mix Bisquick mix, crackers crumbs, seasoned salt and pepper. In another dish, mix egg and water.

2. Dip pork into egg mixture, then coat with Bisquick mixture.

3. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook pork in oil 8-10 minutes, turning once, till done.




It was easy to prepare and fix. Over all time from start to finish was around 20 minutes.

I give it a B. I also have to say I am not a big pork fan unless it is pork from Pho.

Sheckler Skills

A few weeks ago Kaden found a skateboard at the youth garage sale. Kaden has gotten it out a few times and fell right off, but today I told him to bring it in the living room where it doesn't roll out from under him and encouraged him to practice standing on it. After an hour or so he was doing really well and even doing a kick stop.

When Tim got home he worked with him on the hard floor and Kaden was doing even better.

Homework

I put alot of thought into when I would have Kaden sit down and do his homework each week. I guess I picked the perfect time this morning because all I did was give him a marker and explain what to do and he did both pages and cut out his letter B picture in minutes and was finished.

Kaden's First Day Of School

This morning Kaden woke up and was excited to get ready for school. Kaden walked into the class and did fine. Tim and I went in with him and his teacher walked through the morning routine with him. He then started playing and we barely got a goodbye.

Before I left to pick Kaden up I packed him a cup and a snack. I am glad I did because the first thing he said to me was I am hungry and thirsty. I will have to remember to keep doing that.

On our way home we stopped for icecream.

We found a use for the napmat today. Kaden was tired when he got home so he had some quiet time on his mat.

Kaden said "school was awesome". I think he is really going to like it.