The Math Fam

Stomach flu

2012-02-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

I was off from work this past Friday and we were having flooring installed that day. I woke up and cooked breakfast and got Connor ready for school. Once I got back home from taking him I noticed Kellen was still snoozing away. Around 8:15 he woke up and acted like he always does. While I got his breakfast ready I fixed him a cup of milk and turned the tv on. I put him in his high chair and when I came back into the kitchen something told me turn around. I noticed he had thrown up a little but he acted just fine.

After breakfast he was going okay and we decided to head over and see my parents (about 45 minutes away). About 5 minutes into our trip I heard him groaning in the back seat and turned around and noticed he was covered in vomit. I immediately turned the car around and came back home. Poor baby had to ride those 5 minutes covered in puke. :( Needless to say those 5 minutes felt like 50. When we got home I took him out of the car and put him in the tub and got him cleaned up. He went down for a nap so I called our pediatrician, who wanted to see him right away.

In the meantime I took his vomit infested BRAND NEW car seat out of my car and hosed it down in the yard. When we got to the pediatrician he noticed that Kellen was wheezing a little too, and his throat looked a little swollen. He looked so pitiful. So we left his office with a prescription for an antibiotic, pulmicort and albuterol. Antibiotic once a day and the nebulizer meds twice a day for one week. He was so content sleeping on my chest.

I enjoyed snuggling with him this morning while daddy and big brother were getting hair cuts.

He's doing so much better now than he was yesterday, and even kept all of his food down today! He only had applesauce, graham crackers, pedialyte and watered down ginger ale. Here he is enjoying some graham crackers while watching The Wonder Pets. I hope that he can have a little more food tomorrow and maybe a sip or two of milk. He wasn't a very happy camper when he saw Connor getting milk with his breakfast when he had to have pedialyte. :(

I really hope that the rest of us can steer clear of this nasty stomach flu!

Wordless Wednesday: We have a climber

2012-02-08T06:20:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not quite wordless, but just a few words maybe.

Kellen is a climber.

I'm scared. He's fearless.

I have a daily heart attack.

He climbs on any and every thing. His latest trick is climbing up onto the coffee table and just hanging out. He'll sit and watch tv as if he's sitting in a chair. I was so scared the first time he did this but he's very smart and knows how to get up and down like a pro. I apparently wasn't too scared considering I grabbed the camera before I even realized what he was doing! I've also caught him trying to climb into his crib. Don't most babies wan't to climb out of the crib? He has tried to climb out of it too.

This little guy keeps me on my toes way too much!

Lord help me.

Bath time

2012-02-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

Just because I think these pictures are so cute. <3

Project 52: Week 4

2012-02-04T01:56:00.000-05:00

Just hanging out with my boys on Saturday, January 28. We stayed up a little later than usual and decided to watch cartoons, and Connor wanted to take pictures with my phone. This picture was taken with the front camera, so it's not the best quality!

Meal Plans for the week of January 22

2012-01-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday - Barbecue chicken, yams, butter beans and cornbread
Monday - Slow Cooker Cubed Steak, rice and green beans (I found this recipe on Pinterest and this is my first time trying it. I hope it's yummy!
Tuesday - Pan fried pork chops, sweet potatoes and broccoli
Wednesday - Red beans & rice and smoked sausage
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Jambalaya
Saturday - Anything that doesn't have to be prepared by me. :)

Project 52: Week 3

2012-01-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken by my wonderful husband during our morning walk on January 15. I love pictures where we don't feel like we're posing.

Developmental Clinic, visit 3

2012-01-17T08:15:00.000-05:00

Kellen had his third visit with the NICU Developmental Clinic this past week. He walked right in like he owned the place! While we were there we met with a nutritionist, developmental specialist and a neonatologist. They asked a lot of questions and I was very glad to hear that Kellen is exactly where he should be, if not a little ahead based on his adjusted age of 14 months.

His weight is great. He actually jumped a few percentiles since his last visit with the developmental clinic. His height is staying on the curve though, which is still good. His walking and running both look good as well.

One thing that we should begin doing is offering Kellen a spoon during dinner. The developmental specialist told me she knew it would be messy, but now is a good age to begin offering it. She also mentioned that we should begin to encourage his language skills and if we'd like we could start teaching him a few signs. Connor did really well with signing so hopefully Kellen will too.

I was so proud of my little guy! He has come such a long way and he continues to amaze me each and every day.

I snapped this picture with my phone and of course it's crappy because he moves so fast!

He goes back again in September and if all is well, that will be his last visit!

Following in his big brother's footsteps

2012-01-16T15:13:00.000-05:00

These boys are alike in so many ways. A few years ago I posted about Connor becoming a little beaver overnight when he started chewing on his crib. He quickly stopped, to only start back a few months later. I don't know what it is about cribs that just makes them chew away.

The other night as I was putting Kellen to bed I noticed what appeared to be small teeth marks on his crib rail.

He's not as bad as Connor was, but who knows that what this crib rail will look like in the very near future. I'm afraid. All I could picture when I saw this was a beaver chewing away on a piece of wood.. you know, similar to this..

I guess I need to see about getting a crib rail protector before it's too late.

Project 52: Week 2

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Taken on January 8, 2012 after taking a walk. The weather was too beautiful that day! Of course a certain someone is too busy looking at his big brother.

Wordless Wednesday: New glasses

2012-01-11T08:39:00.001-05:00

Please forgive me for the crappy picture. I took it using the front camera on my phone.

Jewelry organized.. check.

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of jewelry.
It's in my car.
It's in my house.
It's in my purse.
It's in my office.

So, you can see it's not organized by any means. My jewelry armoire was about to explode so I had to find something to help organize my jewelry. I went to Target over the weekend and looked to see what they had to offer. My husband pointed this out and said it might work. So I bought it and headed on home.

Since I have no problem keeping it real, you can see how my dresser looked prior to doing a little organization. It looks a hot mess! Something had to be done.

And it was. Check this out! Isn't it nice AND neat? I put all my necklaces in the front, along with a few bracelets.

I put all my earrings in the back along with some of my pins and brooches.

This cost me less than $8 and I love it. I still have a few things in my armoire, but mainly just a few pairs of earrings.

Just toss it

2012-01-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

With a new year comes resolutions, and all the things I say I'm going to do and never do. We've been in our house for just over a year and already have so much stuff. I've decided that this is the year to get rid of things we really don't need, and learn to say "just toss it" and stop trying to hold on to every single thing we own. Why do I want to keep it? Does it even serve a purpose? Probably not!

A few of the girls on my parenting forum are doing the same thing, so we've been able to share ideas. My friend Cindy shared this calendar she found with us from My Simpler Life. I've read over it and I should have found something like this long time ago. These small steps can make huge changes and I can't wait to get started.

I'm also trying to get better with organizing the things we have and stop putting in a drawer and then forgetting where it is. I'm notorious for doing that. One thing on my to do list is to purchase a shredder. You can always count on paper having a hard time making it to the trash can in this house. I also see a lot of storage containers in my future.

Wish me luck! 2012 is going to be a great year!

Project 52: Week 1

2012-01-06T06:15:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken on January 1, 2012 after we got home from church. Both of them were pretty cooperative today!

Project 52

2012-01-05T21:48:00.002-05:00

In 2011 some of the girls on my online parenting forum participated in "Project 52". Each week they took at least one picture with their child(ren). They posted the pictures weekly and while I wanted to participate, I didn't because I didn't think I would make it until the end. Well, we're in a new year and I decided to do it this year! I really hope I can stick to this. I have a few ideas for some of our pictures and I can't wait to share them. I hope to post my weekly picture with just a little information about the picture. Lets just hope my little ones cooperate each week! :)

Are any of you out there doing this or something similar? I'd love to see if you are.

Happy Birthday, Manee!

2011-12-31T22:51:00.000-05:00

So my wonderful mother celebrated her "4th" birthday on December 27 according to Connor. I'm not going to share her age with y'all, but to me she doesn't look a day over 40. :)

Connor is obsessed with birthday parties and all stuff party related. He asked me if we were having a party for "Manee", as he calls her, and I told him we weren't but he insisted. He told me we needed to get Manee a cake and we needed balloons and party hats for the party. Since the party was last minute, we found that our favorite local bakery was closed so we ventured over to Walmart and picked Manee up a cake.

The party banner Connor picked out

Kellen sporting his party hat. Boy if looks could kill we'd all be dead!

Manee with her little buddies. They love her so!

I think everything turned out cute. Connor did a great job picking out everything!

Manee's cake

Ready to blow out the candles

Of course Connor had to help, but I think he was just ready for cake. :)

We hope you had a great birthday, Manee! We love you!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T16:30:00.000-05:00

This Christmas, by far was probably one of the best we've had. Four is definitely the "magic" age and Connor was so excited this year. All he talked about was Santa and what he was going to bring him. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he woke up this year, and it's one I'll always remember. These two little boys are so ~~spoiled~~ loved! I hope everyone out there had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

All the gifts under the tree and just waiting for Santa to come.

Milk and cookies, check.

They left a special note for Santa. :)

Connor decided to pose for a few seconds, and then asked if he could eat the cookies. I told him I'm sure Santa would be very hungry when he got to our house, so that might not be a good idea!

Look! Santa came!

Connor the next morning after he realized Santa came. Love the look on his face!

Opening some of his gifts. He tore into them this year!

Kellen would rather chug his morning milk.

Me with my little loves. Oh how I love them so.

Kellen playing with his new vacuum. We probably should have told Santa to bring Connor one too, since he insists on playing with it!

Sticky Buns I made to go with our breakfast. They were delicious! I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it came from the blog All Things Delicious and can be found here

Daddy and his boys. Love this picture of them!

Kellen is 15 months old.. and his well visit

2011-11-18T14:55:00.001-05:00

When did my baby start looking like a big boy??

Stats at his well visit today: 20lbs 4oz 29in. He's in the 25th percentile! I still can't believe that he was only 2lbs at birth. He has come such a long way. His pediatrician said he should be fully caught up by age 2.

Daily happenings: He's into EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe. I need to stop slacking off and get a baby gate. He pretty much just roams freely around the house but I'm not sure if that's a good thing? He loves all of Connor's toys, and he enjoys story time in the evenings. Kellen also enjoys being outside and going for walks in his stroller.

Eating: He eats, a LOT! He eats more than Connor. There's nothing Kellen doesn't eat. Some of his favorite foods are oatmeal, pancakes, sausage, chicken, green beans, peas, apples, bananas, Kix, Cheerios, applesauce and pudding. I could list a lot more stuff though.

Sleeping: He still sleeps great. Bedtime during the week is by 8:30 and he's up around 6:30 the next morning. On the weekends he sleeps in until around 9:00. I'm so glad both of my children are good sleepers because this tired mama needs her rest!

The visit went well, then it went downhill rather quickly when it was time for immunizations. He received 4 total and looked so pitiful. I hate when he has to get shots. But the pain was only temporary and now he's napping away in his crib, looking so sweet and comfy. It makes me so proud to see how far he has come in the past year. He beat all the odds and now I can't stop him. We go back at 18 months, and I'm sure my little preemie "overachiever" will run into the exam room!

Wordless Wednesday: Then & Now

2011-11-16T23:07:00.001-05:00

Friday Night Delights

2011-11-14T07:15:00.000-05:00

We had a cold front come in Friday, so we spent most of the day inside. It got pretty cold to me, but I know some people would laugh at me if I told you what the temp was. :)

So, we I decided to make some brownies.

My mom told me about these brownies a few weeks ago and they are SO good. They don't taste like anything from a box! Connor decided to help me as well, and as usual he enjoyed helping.

You must try these. To.Die.For.

My little helper. He's pretty cute if I do say so myself!

Stirring "his" brownies

While the brownies baked we had bath time. He was definitely ready for his treat once he got his jammies on.

Giving me a smile.. have to be careful what you ask for with this one! :)

Kellen decided it would be more fun to sit on the floor and chew on a sippy spout.

Then I guess he thought about it again, and decided to join the fun!

Meal Plans for the week of November 13

2011-11-13T13:00:00.001-05:00

Sunday - Barbecue chicken, Pioneer Woman Mac & Cheese, collard greens and cornbread
Monday - Chicken and Dumplings, veggie and yeast rolls
Tuesday - Balsamic Lemon Chicken(one of our favorites), rice and green beans
Wednesday - Sausage casserole and biscuits
Thursday - Ribeye steak, steamed veggies and baked potatoes
Friday - Pioneer Woman Cajun Chicken Pasta
Saturday - Chili and cornbread muffins

Wordless Wednesday: Play time

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

Our New Home: Kellen's Nursery

2011-11-08T22:32:00.001-05:00

I got an email from a reader the other day, and she asked me if I ever posted pictures of Kellen's nursery. It dawned on me that I never did, so I snapped a few pictures of it last week while it was clean.

I love his room, and the only thing it lacks is an all wood rocking chair. I've searched and searched for one. I really hope I can find one soon. I would have loved to have it for when he was a tiny baby, but I think I could still get some use out of one.

View from the door

Another view from the door

Two preemie outfits that used to belong to Connor. I can't seem to part with them, so I decided to display them in Kellen's room.

Shelves

I just love this little bench. I found it at a local consignment shop for only $10. A fresh coat of paint later and it looks brand spanking new!

Changing table and shadowbox

Shadowbox that I made with Kellen's coming home outfit, and a few other keepsake items from the NICU.

Crib and wall words. I love how they turned out!

Bookshelf and a few toys

I love his crib bedding. Thanks Target!

That can of spray paint from Lowe's sure worked wonders for this bookshelf!

I just love this little bench. I found it at a local consignment shop for only $10. A fresh coat of paint later and it looks brand spanking new!

Before I know it I'll be picking out toddler bedding.

Connor's Fall Festival

2011-11-06T22:44:00.002-05:00

Connor's school hosted their annual Fall Festival this past Friday. He talked about it all week long, and I knew he'd be so excited when the day finally came! They had early release that day too, so he was able to go home with us afterwards. The weather was so cold. Well, cold for us with a temperature of 56 plus a chilly breeze.

After the festival we came home and made hot chocolate and watched a few cartoons. Before I knew it Connor was knocked out. Guess he must have been tired?

Daddy setting the ground rules before the festivities begin. What? You don't have to do this with your kids??

Trying out the hula hoop. This mama is clearly out of shape, but he had fun!

Kellen just hanging out. He was so quiet and smiled at everyone. I love him.

Connor getting ready to head down the slide.

WEEEEEEE!!!

Here's a brief video of Connor going down the slide, dirty socks and all. He had a blast playing in the bounce house!

Bust a move, Kellen

2011-11-04T09:10:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I noticed Kellen "dancing" as Ni Hao Kai-Lan was coming on. Today I decided to get a quick video because I thought it was just too cute. He is so sweet!

He's got some moves too!

Connor's Dentist Appointment

2011-11-03T08:10:00.013-04:00

Connor had a dentist appointment on Monday of this week. I was very nervous about this appointment. Connor doesn't like going to the dentist. I don't know if it's the buzzing of the tools they use or what, but it takes an act of congress for him to stay still.

Needless to say, I told daddy that he had no choice but to be there too. There was no way I was getting stuck with that crank all by myself!

Once the hygienist got started he calmed down a little bit.

I just love their costumes! Too cute.

I felt a little bad for him here, but he did okay.

~~Dr. W~~ I mean Dr. Seuss checking him out.

Hopefully by the time of his next appointment in May he'll be a little better.