3/4's of my Buddies...

Just wanted to share some new pics of 3 of my 4 boys...

Luc and Mikey


And again...


Luc...


Mike...


And brand new from this morning...Mr. Benji. His onesie says "Mommy Thinks I'm Cool". Yes, Benji...I sure do! :)


I hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day weekend! I, for one, intend to enjoy mine immensely as it is my last weekend before my return to work after maternity leave. **sigh** :(

Talk soon!
xoxo

Mexican Chicken & Cheese Pasta

I was feeling SO sick when I made this, that I didn't think to snap a picture. :( Sorry folks. But I had to share the recipe anyway.

I found a recipe online for a Mexican Chicken & Cheese Pasta, but we tweaked it to suit our families likes/dislikes, and I couldn't be happier with the results! Even the kids scarfed it down!! LOVE when that happens!

This is quick and delicious...hope you enjoy!

Mexican Chicken & Cheese Pasta

2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 box penne pasta (or any other fave...next time I am going to try rotini!)
1 jar Tostitos brand Salsa Con Queso
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large tomato-diced
Tostitos (or other corn chips)

1. Cook Pasta according to box directions. Drain and return to pan.
2. In a separate pan, cook chicken. (Season to taste)
3. Add chicken to pasta. Mix in beans and Cheese Sauce.
4. Serve immediately. Garnish with diced tomato and crushed tortilla chips.

Like I said, I wasn't feeling well the night I made it but I had it as leftovers the next day and it was delish! We will be adding it to our menu again in the future, I'm sure! Yummy!

Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos

With school starting for my boys very soon, I've been looking for ideas to save us time and sanity!

I saw an idea on TV to make "Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos" so that we did, and I am TOTALLY stoked with the results and now on the hunt for more great "Make Ahead" meals!!

We combined several ingredients (recipe below), rolled up and individually wrapped the breakfast burritos. Now if my kiddos want a quick, hot breakfast, it's as easy as taking one out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave for a couple of minutes! What a great way to provide a hot breakfast for my kids when they get sick of cereal and toast!

Another great thing is that this is TOTALLY customizable to your families likes/dislikes! If Adam would eat onions I would've used "Potatoes O'Brien" instead of regular hash browns...but they were still full of flavor as I made them!

Does anyone have a great "Make Ahead" meals resource? Or a great recipe you're willing to share?

I'd love to hear what others are cooking up!

Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos

16 (2 packages) 8-9" Tortilla Shells
1 dozen eggs
1/2 c. milk
3 T. butter
2 c. shredded cheddar
1 lb. pork sausage
1 pkg. frozen hash browns (or potatoes o'brien)

1. Cook and crumble sausage and drain off any fat. Set aside.

2. In another pan melt butter and then scramble eggs with milk and salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to only do a "soft scramble"...you want the eggs to still be a little wet because you will be reheating the burrito and the eggs will cook the rest of the way at that time.

3. Let sausage and eggs cool for a few minutes. Then mix together in a BIG bowl with your hashbrowns and shredded cheese.



4. Spoon a generous helping of filling onto the center of a tortilla. (I warmed the tortillas first in the microwave to make them easier to roll.)



5. Fold ends in and then roll up. Wrap individually in foil.



6. To reheat, place (in foil) in the oven (350 degrees) until heated through, or remove from foil and microwave for two minutes.

7. Serve with sour cream or salsa...ENJOY!

16 homemade breakfast burritos for less than $10 worth of ingredients with no preservatives or other junk?? I'll take it!

I'm linking up over at "Look What I Made" day at Creations by Kara...make sure you stop by her blog and check out all the homemade goodness going on over there today!!





xoxo

Photo Recap...

I've been a bad blogger, and I know this. Hoping to make up for it with some photos of my lovey?!?!

I have been with and without my computer/photoshop on and off since our hospital stay! I still don't have MY computer actually...but I DO have photoshop on the man's computer...good enough for me, I say!

So I'm catching up on some long overdue photo uploading!

For your viewing enjoyment...

Still in the hospital:





It KILLS me that I cannot remember his face being this tiny...OMG! How could I have forgotten ALREADY!??!?! **sigh** :(


More recent...

My little "old man" (with his "GIANT" face!)...hahaha:


Momma and the man of many chins...

We're Still Here!

I am SO sorry for the lack of posting lately...just trying to keep up with our new life with Benji at home.

He is doing FANTASTICALLY...thank you again for all the well-wishes when he was sick.

We will be spending next weekend working on the bedroom updates I promised so hopefully I can get those pictures posted for you ASAP!! Things are going great so far with the switcheroo! :)

Baby's "calling"...gotta run!

Ahh...when it rains it pours.

Mr. Benji is hanging in there. Looking good, eating well, temp is up, he's content and sweet and I am officially smitten and in love with my sweet little boy.

On a non-Benji related note, we've been dealt some other devastating news, that I can't get into right now, but I will say, last night was rough. When it rains, it pours.

But, you know what? This morning as I type with a snoozing baby on my lap and gorgeous sunlight filtering in through the blinds, I don't care. I've got a family I love. I've got a sick little boy who needs his mommy to be at her best to take care of him. And three little boys at home missing their momma like crazy.

My family needs me to be at my best...**I** need me to be at my best. Taking care of them makes ME feel better too. So that is where my focus will lie. On getting our sick boy better so we can get him home to his brothers. In order to regain some sense of normalcy, I've got to fight for my family and our well-being...so that is what I will do.

Will keep you posted on the little man...

How Do Mom's Do This?

This is tougher than I ever could've imagined. The ups and downs of this hospital stay have been intense, and I am feeling myself...my mood, my personality, etc...slip further and further away. I'm not trying to sound melodramatic here, and I apologize if it's coming across that way. I just need to vent I guess.

I realize there are sweet, sick babies in far worse condition than our little Benji. We still get to have him in our room most of the time. He acts and seems healthy, minus the IV as a constant reminder that he's not. Every blood test/culture he's had since the initial positive has come back negative and clear. He eats well. He maintains his temperature well. (Although those two things seem to change...one day he'll be doing great and the next he's back in the nursery under the warmers because of low temps. Again...ups and downs.) But Benji has an elevated CRP level. CRP is C Reactive Protein...it's a marker, kind of like white blood cell count. Completely non-specific. All we know is that something is wrong. His CRP is not only elevated...it's HIGHER than the last time they checked it. And we have absolutely no idea why.

Yesterday they took his IV out and told us they'd check his blood one more time in the morning and that in all likelihood we'd be going home. Now, yes, they probably shouldn't have said that...but he's been doing so well! But a visit from the pediatrician proved dissapointing this morning...he's here and we don't know for how long. The immediate thought is finish out a 5 day course of antibiotics and retest him then. If it's still elevated, we go from there.

Of course, as a mom...especially a mom prone to worry more than some...my mind runs this gamut of all of the things that could possibly be wrong to elevate that count. There is no "infection"...so what else could be elevating that count? Something is obviously wrong with my baby.

I'm stressed. I'm scared. I'm sad. I am sick, sick, sick of being in this hospital (but I left yesterday and that was way more stressful for me than being here). I miss my other kids and my house and my dogs, but the thought of leaving my baby here for even a minute just breaks my heart. I feel so torn...not knowing what to think. What to do.

Again, I realize there are babies and families dealing with far worse situations which makes me feel guilty for complaining. I feel guilty when I am crabby towards family and friends that want to visit and I just feel like I can't be upbeat and cheerful. I feel guilty that I can't make my sick baby better. I feel guilty that I have felt jealousy towards other moms/babies who were discharged together from the hospital since we've been here. That is unlike me...like I said, I'm losing sight of myself and I don't really know what to do about it.

Anyway...sorry for the "Debbie Downer" post this morning. I just needed to vent how I'm feeling somewhere, and here's as good a place as any, right? I am just having a hard time with the constant wondering and worrying.

(And if any readers have any information on or experience with elevated CRP levels, please let me know.)

I will keep you all posted on how he's doing.