So much to catch up on

so much has happened since i last wrote and i am just too tired to write it all now so i will do it later but for now here are some pictures of hunter passed out eating, mason tired in our inside hammock, Mason in a box, Mason eating in a box, Mason playing playdough, Mason with a trash can over his head after trick-or-treating, boys on there rides, and halloween.

Great Fast Make-Ahead Breakfast Bars

Grab and Go Bars:

1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanutbutter

combine ingredients and heat in microwave for about 2 min. until bubbly.

stir and add in:

1 1/2 cups crushed shredded wheat
1 1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup crasins or rasins

you can also add in anything else that sounds good.

press into a 8 x 8 inch pan. Stick it in the fridge and cut into squares once it sets. It will be just a tiny bit chewy. i stick mine in a big ziplock and keep them in the fridge for breakfast or for a snack as an option instead of a sugary pick me up.

A New Idea I had

I was looking at an email i got about a recipe swap and had an instant brain storm. I used to be not only one of the lead cooks at 2 different restaurants but also the head trainer in one kitchen ant a coorprate trainer in the other. So, my point is that i know how to cook pretty well. But i spend most of the time now coming up with or altering recipes to fit my families needs and my time restraints.

So anyway my point is that i think i am going to try to post a new or good recipe i have come across, made up or altered every once in awhile. So, here is this weeks recipe:

This is an amazing recipe I came up with for my family. Mason loves them and Brandon really likes taking them for dinner in to work. I just plane old like them. They are really easy, fast and healthy. Just wanted to share them with you guys.

Turkey, bacon wraps:

lay out a tortilla

spread with ranch or guacamole

lay out 2 thick pieces of turkey

top with favorite cheese

add some lettuce and 1 to 2 pieces of bacon

I add some more avocado because it is so very good for you

roll up and microwave for 30 seconds if you want it warm

this is so tasty and good and healthy for you

we serve it with strawberries or frozen blueberries for an even better immune system and antioxidant boost.

this makes an amazing on the go lunch.

Mason's Wall of Art

Mason is a budding artist just like his mommy was. We let him put up his art work on a large wall in the living room. We use painters tape so the wall is not hurt. He loves to show of all his art work to anyone who visits our home. He is just so proud of it, and we are proud of him and his talent. He colors in coloring books, finger paints, and draws on blank paper to create his masterpieces. His favorite color is yellow. He asks for yellow when he wants to create something new.

Mason Likes to Help in Many Ways

The boys love to play together. And everyday they have a little more fun together.

Hunter's Allergic Reaction To Amoxacillian

Hunter has been on Amoxacillian for an ear infection. He was on his last dose, on his 10th day, and he woke up with weird spots all over and a fever. I thought he had somehow gotten chickenpox. I felt so bad for him. He looked and acted like he felt so miserable. He took him immediatly to the doctor and was told that he was having an allergic reaction to his antibiotic. When i told them that Brandon was allergic to Penacillian they said that their was no conection and that it is not genetic. They also told me that it was gonna get alot worse before it got better. I just wasn't prepared for how bad it really got. Heat made it worse so we had to keep the house really cold and put as little clothing on him as possible.

Thank goodness, he woke up today with no more spots.

Potty Training Hilarity

We started potty training with mason on monday. He is doing great with it. But the funniest thing happened yesterday that i just had to share. I put him on the potty and went out of the room to check on Hunter. When i came back this is what i saw. (It is water in the cup, not soda.) He grabbed it off the sink and sat there for another 10 min. He wouldn't get up til he had finished all the water in the cup.

Thank you to all

Words can't express the gratitude i feel for those who have given us help in so many different ways. I decided that i am gonna take this week to just be sad and next week i will try to be a human again.

We have been stuck in the house all week and found some really stupid ways to entertain ourselves. Hunter tried watermelon for the first time and loved it. Mason spent some fun time building with jumbo legos.

We were pretty boring and i know that next week i am gonna have to spend some really serious time cleaning up after the daddy-daycare disaster that is our house. Sorry to all those who had to see it but to be honest Brandon is an amazing dad and stepped up to the plate to go above and beyond the call of duty. There where some intense, "How on earth do you do this every day?!!" moments, but he has been wonderful. (despite the fact that it looks like a bomb went off in our house)

Really Sad News

This has been a really hard week for us. On Monday i went on a routine visit to a high risk prenatel specialist. This is normal for me considering that have high risk pregnancies due to my Lupus. I showed up at 8am for an ultrasound. Within minuets it was obvious something was wrong.

The doctor told me that he couldn't find a heart beat and that our baby had died, probably within the past day or two. It was a total shock and took about 20 min. to sink in. I was not expecting this news. I was expecting a healthy happy baby and good report. The high risk doctor spent an hour explaining that the babies head seemed to be misshapen and that there was probably some chromosomal problems. This made me realize that it is better that the baby passed away but it still hurts. My OBGYN happened to be in the hospital right when i got the news, so they called here and she came right over to talk to me.

We schedualed a DNC for that same day and it was done later that day. It was an extreamly emotional experiance. Because Brandon used to work in the OR all of the surgons, nurses, and techs came to give their condolances. This was trully sweet but very draining.

I am now in alot more pain than i thought i would be and it is really hard to take care of the boys when brandon isn't here. Cinda, my sister-in-law was able to come over and help with dinner, bath and bed tonight and Sister Cromerty had Hunter for an hour to allow me to go to the store to pick up some needed items. Several sisters have come over to bring us food and to just give me a much needed hug which is greatly appreciated.

This is a very sad time for all of us but hopefully in time we will heal both physicly and emotionally. Thank you for all the support and prayers.

Our little helper

Mason is such a big helper. I came home with a car load of groceries and he insisted on helping to carry some in. He grabbed the laundry detergent and i snapped a few pics of him carrying it to the door. So cute. He can now put diapers in the diaper pale and "help" fold clothing. (he really just messes up the already folded clothes, but what ever.) The boys are both getting so big. I got a really good pic of them together.

Fireman Mason

Mason got a new fireman raincoat from costco. He wouldn't take it off for a long time. He loved getting in his toy car which he called his "guck guck" (fire truck) and take Hunter for a ride. It was really cute.

Sick kids

Sadly Mason has another ear infection. yuck! He and his brother, Hunter, have had runny noses for about 2 weeks. Mason's cold turned into a double ear infection a week ago and Hunter's turned into an ear infection on last monday. Poor babies!

Neither kid has been sleeping properly since this all began. Mommy has been keeping them home and inside for awhile now. Nothing seems to help. We went to see an ENT for Mason's reaccuring ear infections per our pediatricians sugestion. We have decided to put tubes in both ears on August 20th in the early morning. It seems to be the best option.

Well, as a side note, today is Mommy's 31st birthday. Yeah! Nothing special about the day though. Except for a few birthday wishes and Memaa and Papa Kaestner did visit and bring a banana shake from sonic. We just hope that we all get some real sleep tonight but we highly doubt it.

Mason did learn how to finger paint this week and loved it. The really likes the result he sees from his painting. Another first, he had his first shower with daddy after the finger painting session and loved it too. This is his new favorite pass time of the day. We put some new fishy stickems on the bath tub to prevent him from slipping, so now everyday he asks to see the fishys and take a "shar" (shower).


Potty training is going pretty well. Mason wears pullups and goes to sit on the potty every 30 min. He going peepee almost every time, but we coax him by pouring water over his peepee which makes him go. He is still poopooing in his pullups but i am pretty proud of him for peeing in the big boy potty. He is only 18 months. After going he plays with the fish in the bathtub or sometimes he gets a peepee cracker (gram cracker) as a reward. He is really a big boy and we are so proud of him.

G-pa's visit

Brandon's grandpa came to visit from new york. we had a great visit and got some cute pis of him with the kids.

Update on Mason

So, Mason seems to be doing much better for now. He no longer is holding his head and walking around like he is drunk. (running into walls and stumbling around) I think he might have been having vertigo or some extreme dizziness of some kind. He would put his head on the floor while standing up and suddenly lay down when he was playing, almost to stop the world from spinning.

His MRI and CAT scans came back all in the normal range. This is a picture of him just after the MRI. He had to be sedated.

Really cute pics