Show Us Where You Live Friday...

Please, excuse my tardiness to the party, Kelly. Have I mentioned that I have a new baby??? And, I also am back working full time? Which translates to an excuse to be 2 days late with a Friday post, right? But, I wanted to participate in the kitchen edition of show us where you live. Now, after looking at what seems like about a 100 or so kitchens from this tour, I feel like my kitchen is in sad shape. It is not custom and new like most of the homes on this tour. But, it is HOME and I love it. This is a project area for my summer vacation from school. The super 80's wallpaper and border will all be removed and painted this summer! And, I am ITCHING to redo our cabinets to make them look more updated. I want to do a dark chocolate brown with new silver pulls and knobs. Can't wait!
So here's our country kitchen!!! (P.S. I LOVE SEEING OTHER PEOPLES HOMES! It's an addiction of mine, that's why my tv stays on HGTV.)

This is the view from the dining room...







Yes, my counter tops are cluttered. It just seems to be a never ending battle. Anyone else feel that way?




Yes, I have my refrigerator covered in stuff! And, the top could use some cleaning off! Oooopps!




And, we have a bouncey chair on the table and dog kennels and food bowls on the floor, welcome to my house!





I found this little corner shelf at Ross for $20 a few years ago. I had cataloge order one from JCPenney that cost over $150, then the day after building it found this at Ross, I took the JCPenney one apart, packed it back into its box, and got my money back! I keep my ivy's on it that I got when my Papa Fisher passed away(Thank you, Martha, these were little tiny starter plants last June), and my cook books are all on the bottom shelf!



This little barn has special sentimental value and meaning to me. My Papa Fisher built this for my Momma when I was a little girl and it's always been in our house. A few years ago, when I bought my first house, mom gave me the barn. The figurines my Granny bought to go inside. I love it! It reminds me of my childhood spent with my Granny &Papa on the dairy!




Another project in itself, cleaning out and re organizing the pantry! Do any of you recall that I used to be a SUPER DUPER housekeeper and organizer??? HA!




I have a slight 'LIKE' for canisters or JARS! I have three sets out on my kitchen counters. Here's the glass ones!



The stainless ones!




The pasta jars!

Look Who's Three Months Old Today!!!

Here is our PRECIOUS Kaden Angus, three months old today! It is so hard to believe he is that old already, time has been flying by. But, at the same time we feel like he's been a part of our family forever and can not remember what we did without him already! Daddy got to be here today for our three month birthday and photo shoot! Here's what we came up with, outfit compliments of Daddy. He..he! Here's our handsome little man...







Now, if these don't make you smile, there is something seriously wrong with you!




Blowing bubbles...

















In this next picture, Kaden is practicing his Elvis moves....Ha!





Look what I can do now! I can hold my head up Super High!




This is me chillin' with my Mom after some serious tummy time! (Excuse the dirty nose, I've been a little sick.)




My Mom sometimes makes messes. This is my rice cereal all over the floor, Mom spilled it while trying to fix me a bottle. She was only hurrying because I was crying, and maybe screaming a little, too. She didn't mean to, but she still had to clean it up. The good news, we feed it to the donkey's, they liked it.



I got to spend a lot of time with my Daddy this week. He kept me three days while Mommy worked. Here's me and Dad hanging out!




And, here's the woman I love the most! My Mommy and me! (You'll notice, my Mommy has straight hair in this picture!)

Daddy Day Care!

Monday morning Lance was at home and he helped me by taking Kaden to his Mom's and picking Kaden up from her house as well for me. Then, on Tuesday morning he was still at home and decided he would KEEP Kaden all day long by himself. Daddy & Kaden day was VERY successful, and Lance enjoyed their day so much! And, Kadem did too! Then, this morning Lance kept Kaden as well until I got home at noon to take him to his doctor follow up appointment. At the appointment, Dr.C says Kaden is doing perfect. He's all cleared up and no more wheezing. So, he gets to stop the steriods and the breathing treatments. YEAH! We are 100% better, healed, WELL! He & I, except I am scared to brag because of my job. I swear I have a SERIOUSLY ILL child in my class every day this week so far. We have been disinfecting the school like crazy because of the swine flu, but it doesn't do any good when kids don't use proper hygiene. Anyway, we have the LAST of our 5th grade TAKS test tomorrow, the Science test. Then, we are done with TAKS, except the kids that have to retake the math test. Oh Yes, Kaden weighed in at 15 pounds and 10 ounces today, loosing 5 ounces this week while he was sick!!! Off to bed, it's going to be a LONG day at work tomorrow!

Mommy's Saturday Ramblings!

First, I just wanted to share a quick, oldie but goody recipe that I just re-copied from my M-I-L and that we are having for dinner tonight. Yeah! Daddy is home after 10 days of us not seeing him!!! We are HAPPY to have him back!!!

Mexican Fiesta Chicken

1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can rotel (I recommend mild)
1-1/2 cups chicken (I used a LG can of Chicken, juice and all)
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional, I don't use)
1/2 cup bell pepper (optional, I don't use)
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 bag plain tostito rounds
(If you want to use a bag of nacho cheese doritos, do not add chili powder)
Mix all soups together.
Slowly stir in chips (not the entire bag)
Add cheese sprinkles to top
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Enjoy!!!! Yummy!!!

This is what mine looks like when it came out of the oven!!!






On our outing to the pediatrician the other day (Wed), I had not anticipated a three and a half hour doctor visit. 2 hour wait to get seen, then an hour and a half back with the doctor. I didn't bring in Kaden's bottles and formula diaper bag from the car because he had just eaten before getting there and I never imagined we could be in there that long. Well, we were. I finally commented to the nurse about it and they brought us a 2oz. ready made formula bottle. Kaden was not to happy with that 2 oz. snack and screamed his head off when he finished it! So, once we left the pediatricians office I decided to go in Target. (Yes, I get the bad mommy of the year award for taking my sick baby in Target.) But, he had to have a bottle and I didn't want to sit in a parking lot, in the back seat of the car alone and feed my baby. So, while in Target, of course, I found things I couldn't live with out.
For example, this cow chair, backpack, and bug box for Kaden! The lady at the checkout asked me if this was for my older child. I said, "No, it's for him! (Pointing at kaden) The lady says, "Oh, we all do that the first time!" LOL!



This afternoon I ran to town. (Yes, to town, we live in the country and that is what us country folks refer to as driving a minimum of 10 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart or grocery store!) I didn't literally run, thank goodness, however, it might help me loose some of this baby weight. Anyway, Lance wanted to take a nap and Kaden was ready for a nap, and I needed to take care of a few things. Kaden is still not feeling well, so I don't want to drag him out. I had some clothes to return and tryed on new clothes (which is very depressing when your 3 dress sizes bigger than you've ever been in your life, a good reason to stay in maternity clothes as long as possible, real clothes SUCK after a baby!) I have lost a lot of weight. 38 pounds to be exact, but I gained 55 pounds during my pregnancy. So, I still have 17 pounds to go! And, I just get the feeling that I am going to have to start working for that weight to come off. I KNOW it has only been 11 weeks, and most people would KILL to loose 38 pounds in 11 weeks, but I am just ready to get in my clothes again. And, it WILL happen! I can not live with my body like this! I have been so excited about the weather getting pretty so I can gt outside more with the stroller and Kaden in the evenings.

When I returned from my little outing this afternoon, this is what I found.... HA!





Like father, like son! They are both STILL sleeping just like this, this is why I have quiet time to THINK about this post!

I am thinking of starting to scrapbook...Do any of you do this productively or faithfully? I thought of printing out my Mabe Babe blog and putting it all into a scrapbook for Kaden to keep as he grows up??? What do ya'll think?? I know it will require a lot of time and money and effort, but I think it would be a good hobby to keep me busy at home. (Like I need help having things to do, but, I do need fun relaxing things to do, and I enjoy being creative like that!)

Also, I started organizing Kaden's closet the other day. (Already, yes.) I have officially packed up his Newborn and 0-3 month clothing, socks and shoes into clear totes and labelled them. It was SO sad to pack that stuff up so soon! I HAVE to have another boy to use all of this stuff! So, we are packing it all away very neatly for the next Mabe Babe boy (maybe) one day. (Not yet though, I have to loose all of this baby weight before I can do that to my body again!)

Kaden is really starting to react badly (in my opinion) to the albuterol nebulizer treatments. He has started jerking and being very hyped up after wards. He also has rosy cheeks and face today. I'm just starting to worry about giving them to him. We were doing every 4 hours or as needed, but I am stretching it out to every 6 hours or longer, or as needed. Only doing them if he is wheezing or really congested. I guess I need to invest in a stethoscope because I am curious what his heart rate is like after a treatment. Do any of you have experience with infant albuterol use???

My almost 16 pound baby!!!

I forgot to mention that little Kaden weighed 15 pounds and 15 ounces at the docotor on Wed.!!! Holy Cow! He gained almost 2 pounds in 3 weeks! He's a big boy and growing SO fast! We are going into size 3 diapers very soon, as soon as we run out of the 2's that we have.

This is Kaden's favorite outfit! A diaper!!!





And, the only reason he has shoes on is because Mommy found these super cute flip flop sandals at Target and was trying them on him!



Kaden is the sweetest little thing in the world. He is bringing so much joy to my life! I just love this little guy!

How can you not love this face???



The big scratch above his eyebrow is from his fingernails! He is so good at scratching himself everytime we get one cleared up he does it again. Also, yesterday while buckling Kaden into his bouncy seat the buckle somehow made contact with his arm and pinched his skin. He screamed bloody murder, and I almost cryed when I discovered that I had pinched my sweet baby. He has a mark from that pinch below his elbow, so I know it had to hurt. I felt horrible for letting him get pinched...

Sick???

My poor baby caught the CRUD from me! I got sick after my first four days back at work and am still fighting off the nasty cough from the illness. My sickness required two doctors visits including two shots in the hinnie, steroid and antibiotic, as well as an oral antibiotic and prescription cough meds. Needless to say, I obviously infected my sweet Kaden with this stuff. He started feeling sick on Monday and by Wednesday he was full blown sick with the terrible congestion, coughing and wheezing. He sounded like a seal when he coughed. So, off to the pediatrician we went Wed. We were there for 3 1/2 hours due to a long wait to get in and then the doctor having Kaden take a breathing treatment so she could listen to him after to see if he was still wheezing. We ended up with the diagnosis of CROUP Cough and a viral cold. We also left with a lovely new nebulizer machine to do breathing treatments at home every four hours. Dr. C says this should help us avoid the hospital, which FREAKED me out a little. She said he was very sick. I mean, I knew he was sick, but just the mention of the hospital scared me.
So, here we are getting breathing treatments at home:





Here's the machine...it is the panda bear...



He sucks on the pacifier and it gives him his breathing treatment. Pretty neat technology we have these days for babies... He is also on a steriod to help with the coughing/wheezing situation.

The good news is, Kaden is feeling better today, we still have a nasty croupy cough, but he is feeling much better. In fact, here he is all SMILES and laughs and talking....(to his NANA, of course)





Look at my sweet baby!




Here he is talking...






And my poor sick baby sleeping...



So, again, I have missed more work. I missed 1/2 day Wed., Thursday, and today. Maybe next week I'll get in a full week. Maybe...
Also, Daddy has been gone to work since last Wed., he hasn't seen us in almost 10 days!!! He is on his way home now, should be here in the morning, we hope!

Am I at Super Mom status yet???

It has been a LONG week/weekend. Starting with the fact that I began to feel sick on Easter Sunday which progressed each day until I had the full blown crud on Wednesday. So, on Wed. from work I called my doctor and begged them to call in a prescription for me because I can not miss anymore work. Heck, I had only been back 7 work days total as of Wed. My doctor was a trooper and called me in a Z-Pack antibiotic. My husband, being the sweet man that he is, drove the meds to me at work, on his way to work. I have not seen Lance since Wed for those few moments at school, and frankly don't know when I will see him again, hopefully soon. I finished the work day on Wed., and proceeded to feel WORSE as the night went on. My Mom ended up coming over and spending the night with me Wed night so that I could sleep a little and try to stay out of Kaden's face. On Thursday morning I called in to work and went to the doctor's office feeling like death, literally. I got two shots in the booty. On steroid, one antibiotic, continue Z-Pack antibiotics and mucinex. I was sick enough on Thursday that when my Mom left at 3 p.m., my M-I-L came and picked Kaden up and I stayed in bed. Thursday night around 9:45 I went to my in-laws and spent the night with Kaden there. On Friday, I again missed work. Still sick all day Friday, Saturday, and still pretty well feel like HELL tonight. Mainly I have a cough that won't quit and my body just aches. But, I am going to work in the morning. I attempted church alone this morning with Kaden. It was our third week to go with Kaden and he was good as always, it was just really hard on me because I held him the whole time and he's heavy! I had no one to pass him off to. We missed Daddy today.
Now, the reason why I am super mom, you ask???
Well, tonight while getting ready for bed (9:30 p.m.) I got Kaden from his swing (were he was asleep) to change his diaper to put him to bed. He immediately woke and was kicking and gooing and smiling and talking to me while I changed his diaper. A dirty diaper might I add. When I just about had the clean diaper on him, he began to pee and it went all in his face and all over his shirt. So, I got out another diaper and took off his clothes. Once that was all cleaned up, I almost had the other diaper on when the same thing happened again. Unbelievable! So, now I leave him naked on the pack-n-play changing table basket to go run bath water for him because he is now covered in his own pee. When I return to fetch him, no JOKE, he had peed again! Only this time it had landed all over MY BED!!! (Which I had just finished changing the sheets and bedding on today) I went to rip the sheets back quickly, but it was to late, it also soaked through the mattress pad which I had just washed too!) He was screaming by this point, tired of laying in his pee, I suppose...so, off to the bath we went. And, after about 1 minute in the tub he released a lovely present for me again, only this time it wasn't pee. So, we had to drain the bath and start over again. Luckily, it all ended there! (I hope.) It's just one of those moments were if it weren't so funny, I'd cry! I'm ready for Daddy to come home and help me!!! It's now after mid night and I have to get up at 5 a.m. to get ready for monday at school! Yip-he! Can you sense the excitment in my voice??? I just want to stay in bed tomorrow with my baby, but we must have health insurance and a pay check, right? It sucks though, I don't want to work, I want to stay at home and play with Kaden.