Andrew has always been my sickly boy. He just has a harder time staying well than Jacob. Such is life I guess.
Over the weekend, he had a loose cough and a horrible runny nose. I also noticed a posting that strep throat was in his room at school. So this morning when he started complaining that his neck hurt, I went into panic mode.
Back up to the events of the morning. He woke up feeling fine. He ate a little breakfast and then played for a little bit with Jacob. Then it was time to get dressed. We have been trying to teach him that it is okay to get up and go pee in the night. And when he goes 4 or 5 days I think without peeing in his pullup, then he can sleep in underwear. So he wakes up every morning and says that his pullup is dry; most times it is not. This morning Brian was throwing his wet pullup in the trash, and Andrew was upset that it was wet I guess. And then all of a sudden his neck started hurting.
Brian thought he was faking just because he didn't want to get ready for school. I thought he was really in pain. He would not let go of me, and just kept complaining about it. So I stayed home.
Andrew HATES the doctor's office. He starts to cry when they call his name to go back to a room. Last time he went....January.....2012....we saw a different nurse. I tried to prepare him by telling him what she was going to do (look in his ears and mouth and listen to his breathing). He did pretty well with that last time. So this time I made our appointment with the same nurse and told him what was about to happen again. We practiced breathing for that part of the exam, and man, he did SO well with it all! No meltdowns at all! So she checks him out, and then she leaves our room for a little bit. This is where Funny Andrew made his appearance. He told me, "Mommy, we need our two little pieces of paper (prescriptions). And we need our two yellow sheets (review sheets summarizing the visit). And I need to get candy!" He remembered all of that from the last visit! Kind of impressive since I left those parts out of my pep talk (but I remembered them a month ago).
He's also funny because he's walking in his best Rain Man pose - head cocked to one side. lol!
So now we are home, resting. He's watching Backyardigans, and I'm blogging. :) I'm gonna lay down now and try to snooze a bit.
Dreams!
Andrew told me about a dream he had last night! Here's what he told me:
When I was sleeping with my doggie, my dog got toys! Me: Your dog got toys?! (Side Note: I thought he had been up in the night playing with toys, and he was telling me that his dog did it) A: Yes! He got a teddy bear and another dog. Me: A teddy bear and a dog?! A: Yes! And a firetruck, too!
That's a pretty vivid memory of a dream for a kid under 3. I was impressed!
So this year has been a beast so far. I have worked A LOT, which is great for the bank account - not so great for family life. I had to do end of year files, tax documents for employees, and we had some unexpected network issues that popped up. The weekend I had to work on the network, all three of my boys were sick. Jacob woke up that morning throwing up; Andrew was extremely congested and ended up with a nasty double ear infection; and Brian probably had a combo of the two - I don't remember the details for him.
Jacob is getting SO big! I'm finally dealing with the fact that he will start Kindergarten in 6 months. Okay...we are working on it (as I'm choking up while I type this). I have completed the first paperwork for Kindergarten. I filled out a transfer form so that we can get him into a different elementary school in the district. Other than that, I have no idea what we need to do. He is also signed up to play soccer again. Andrew is still too young, but I think he'll be great at it! Jacob is learning to read, which makes me feel the most proud I've ever felt about him. How cool is that?! I get frustrated sometimes, but he is completely kicking ass with the whole thing.
I read Mary's blog a couple of weeks ago, and I decided it was time to do a chore chart with my kids, too. We got one for Christmas, and we ordered a second one so that each boy has his own. They have 7 things to do each day, and they get a smiley face for each item they complete: get dressed, say please and thank you, put away toys, stop whining (this is a constant battle for Andrew, but he's coming around), get ready for bed, set table, and clear the table. By the end of last week, we thought Andrew might be too young to have so many items, but he is holding his own this week! Usually Jacob gets 6 smileys, but he's had a couple of 7's this week. Andrew can get 5-6 without a problem. We haven't introduced money into the game yet. For now, the smileys and the competition of who can get the most is enough motivation.
Hmm...what else?! Brian and I are doing a Parenting with Love and Logic class right now. It is every Wednesday for 8 weeks - last night was the 2nd class. Our pediatrician is teaching the class at a church literally right around the corner from our house. We have seen an immediate change in the atmosphere of the entire house by making three small changes: 1. Give your child 3 "at-a-boys" for every 1 negative; 2. Remember that you can only control yourself; and 3. If there is no audience, the show closes. We have had an incredible decrease in time outs and temper tantrums. It's amazing! Some of that could be their charts, too. We started them both at the same time. But just encouraging the kids more and telling them that we are proud and good job has made the biggest difference. Really cool!
Blog update: Yes, I suck at this. Last week I actually changed the settings on my blog to be private because I never post anything. I thought, eh, screw it...I'm just going to give up. Then this morning, Andrew was so cute that I just had to share! So maybe this will be more of a journal than a collection of pictures. That's what holds me up - getting the pictures uploaded and formatted and on here is so time consuming! But I can write a little story in a few minutes (or several in about 20). I try to put pictures on Facebook because everyone is on there. And I can do it in just a few seconds with my phone. so there you go!
This weekend I'm off on a girls' trip to St. Louis! I am SO pumped! Maybe picture will make it for that one. ha! Happy Thursday!
When I was sleeping with my doggie, my dog got toys! Me: Your dog got toys?! (Side Note: I thought he had been up in the night playing with toys, and he was telling me that his dog did it) A: Yes! He got a teddy bear and another dog. Me: A teddy bear and a dog?! A: Yes! And a firetruck, too!
That's a pretty vivid memory of a dream for a kid under 3. I was impressed!
So this year has been a beast so far. I have worked A LOT, which is great for the bank account - not so great for family life. I had to do end of year files, tax documents for employees, and we had some unexpected network issues that popped up. The weekend I had to work on the network, all three of my boys were sick. Jacob woke up that morning throwing up; Andrew was extremely congested and ended up with a nasty double ear infection; and Brian probably had a combo of the two - I don't remember the details for him.
Jacob is getting SO big! I'm finally dealing with the fact that he will start Kindergarten in 6 months. Okay...we are working on it (as I'm choking up while I type this). I have completed the first paperwork for Kindergarten. I filled out a transfer form so that we can get him into a different elementary school in the district. Other than that, I have no idea what we need to do. He is also signed up to play soccer again. Andrew is still too young, but I think he'll be great at it! Jacob is learning to read, which makes me feel the most proud I've ever felt about him. How cool is that?! I get frustrated sometimes, but he is completely kicking ass with the whole thing.
I read Mary's blog a couple of weeks ago, and I decided it was time to do a chore chart with my kids, too. We got one for Christmas, and we ordered a second one so that each boy has his own. They have 7 things to do each day, and they get a smiley face for each item they complete: get dressed, say please and thank you, put away toys, stop whining (this is a constant battle for Andrew, but he's coming around), get ready for bed, set table, and clear the table. By the end of last week, we thought Andrew might be too young to have so many items, but he is holding his own this week! Usually Jacob gets 6 smileys, but he's had a couple of 7's this week. Andrew can get 5-6 without a problem. We haven't introduced money into the game yet. For now, the smileys and the competition of who can get the most is enough motivation.
Hmm...what else?! Brian and I are doing a Parenting with Love and Logic class right now. It is every Wednesday for 8 weeks - last night was the 2nd class. Our pediatrician is teaching the class at a church literally right around the corner from our house. We have seen an immediate change in the atmosphere of the entire house by making three small changes: 1. Give your child 3 "at-a-boys" for every 1 negative; 2. Remember that you can only control yourself; and 3. If there is no audience, the show closes. We have had an incredible decrease in time outs and temper tantrums. It's amazing! Some of that could be their charts, too. We started them both at the same time. But just encouraging the kids more and telling them that we are proud and good job has made the biggest difference. Really cool!
Blog update: Yes, I suck at this. Last week I actually changed the settings on my blog to be private because I never post anything. I thought, eh, screw it...I'm just going to give up. Then this morning, Andrew was so cute that I just had to share! So maybe this will be more of a journal than a collection of pictures. That's what holds me up - getting the pictures uploaded and formatted and on here is so time consuming! But I can write a little story in a few minutes (or several in about 20). I try to put pictures on Facebook because everyone is on there. And I can do it in just a few seconds with my phone. so there you go!
This weekend I'm off on a girls' trip to St. Louis! I am SO pumped! Maybe picture will make it for that one. ha! Happy Thursday!
Paxton Christmas 2011
I knew our Christmas weekend was going to be non-stop. With the two kids who are totally into Christmas this year, it was impossible to completely prepare for it mentally.
Friday, December 23 - Steve's family, Sarah's family, and my family drove down to Red Oak to have our immediate family Christmas. The boys jumped right into the opening presents event. They got some really good gifts! The favorites were cowboy hats, a stick horse for Andrew, trains for Andrew, and the Bat Mobile and Joker for Jacob. Here are the pics.
After play time, we played our annual White Elephant Game. Brian ended up with ingredients to make S'mores and a gift certificate to the movies. I ended up with a recipe box perfect for pulling recipes out of magazines! I was pumped! I tear out recipes all the time and have no place to put them.
Then we took some pics of our entire family and just my family.
Christmas was off to a great start! Now it was time to load up the boys' gifts and head home to get ready for Santa!
Friday, December 23 - Steve's family, Sarah's family, and my family drove down to Red Oak to have our immediate family Christmas. The boys jumped right into the opening presents event. They got some really good gifts! The favorites were cowboy hats, a stick horse for Andrew, trains for Andrew, and the Bat Mobile and Joker for Jacob. Here are the pics.
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| Matthew with his loot |
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| Jacob with his loot |
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| Andrew with his loot |
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| What?! (Jacob's new favorite expression) A Bat Mobile! |
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| Andrew with his Stick Horse |
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| Grant with his Sock Monkey Jack in the Box |
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| Just what I wanted! A Cowboy Hat! |
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| Andrew |
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| Grant and Jacob |
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| Grant jumped right into a hat box! |
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| Occasionally we would find Grant in Abby's carseat |
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| Cowboy Andrew! |
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| Papa with the Princess |
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| Derek with his Angel! |
Saturday, December 24 - We had the whole Paxton clan out to Red Oak. It was really nice! Last year we tried something different by having it at a restaurant. This year, everyone wanted it to be at someone's house, and they were all SO excited that my parents volunteered to host. It was probably one of our best Christmases yet!
The plan was for everyone to arrive around noon, and then we would eat around 12:30. This is where I found myself when it was time to eat.
He literally crawled up into my lap, got comfy, and went to sleep.
I cannot remember the last time that happened.
Andrew woke up about halfway into lunch time by having an accident. We both changed clothes and then sat down to eat. Then the kids played for a while while the adults visited.
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| Grant and Matthew |
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| Jacob |
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| Grant and Andrew. I love this pic! It looks like Andrew is going to pull out Grant's tooth. These two were sizing each other up the entire time we were in Red Oak. |
After play time, we played our annual White Elephant Game. Brian ended up with ingredients to make S'mores and a gift certificate to the movies. I ended up with a recipe box perfect for pulling recipes out of magazines! I was pumped! I tear out recipes all the time and have no place to put them.
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| The boys attacked him for the Graham Crackers. |
Then we took some pics of our entire family and just my family.
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| Our Family - Great pic of everyone! |
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| My Family - Great pic of everyone! |
Christmas was off to a great start! Now it was time to load up the boys' gifts and head home to get ready for Santa!
North Pole Express
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| The Boys on the North Pole Express |
Anyway, we heard that they have a train that is similar to the Polar Express in Grapevine. Brian and I decided to surprise the kids with it last night.
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| Daddy and Jacob |
First, we went to see the Muppet movie. I'm a HUGE fan of the Muppets! So when Andrew had had enough, Brian took him out of the theater. It was great, and I think Jacob is a Muffet fan now, too!
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| Andrew, Mommy, Jacob |
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| Mommy and Jacob |
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| Andrew |
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| Jacob |
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| Santa, Brian, Andrew, Jacob |
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| The boys show off their bells from Santa! |
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| Yum! Hot Chocolate! |
Holiday Dinner Party
A couple of weeks ago, I had the idea that it would be fun to get my girlfriends together for a holiday party. So I bounced the idea off of one of my best friends, Megan, and she suggested a Holiday Dinner Party. From there, the idea grew! We had to send invitations and plan the meal quickly.
We had a Veggie Tray, Cheese and Crackers Tray, and Spinach Dip for Appetizers.
The Salad was supposed to look like a gift. I think I bought tomatoes that were too small, but the presentation was still different than a normal salad. Check out my Pinterest to see where I found the inspiration. http://pinterest.com/cedomm/
Flank Steak with Roasted Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes for Dinner.
And Megan's Grandmother's Lemon Cake for Dessert.
Of course, there was wine - lots of wine.
I had a few games that we played, too! I had a White Elephant game. Everything was from Kirkland's but they were all really cute Christmas Decoration items. Then I asked each person to write down her favorite Christmas memory. Then I read them aloud, and we had to guess who wrote the story. I also bought a Pickle Ornament. The pickle ornament is a German tradition. You hide the ornament on your tree, and the child who finds it first gets to open a special gift or the first gift of Christmas. I had never heard of this until this year. Since my kids are probably too young, I thought it would be fun to try it out on my girlfriends. Success!
The whole night was so much fun! It was a big enough deal where I needed things to look cute and the house to be pretty clean, but it was low key enough to where I did not feel stressed at all.
Big Shout Out to Megan who helped pull it all together! And a big thanks to Megan, Emily, and Cassie who started the clean up process before they left.
We had a Veggie Tray, Cheese and Crackers Tray, and Spinach Dip for Appetizers.
Veggie Tray
The Salad was supposed to look like a gift. I think I bought tomatoes that were too small, but the presentation was still different than a normal salad. Check out my Pinterest to see where I found the inspiration. http://pinterest.com/cedomm/
And Megan's Grandmother's Lemon Cake for Dessert.
Of course, there was wine - lots of wine.
I had a few games that we played, too! I had a White Elephant game. Everything was from Kirkland's but they were all really cute Christmas Decoration items. Then I asked each person to write down her favorite Christmas memory. Then I read them aloud, and we had to guess who wrote the story. I also bought a Pickle Ornament. The pickle ornament is a German tradition. You hide the ornament on your tree, and the child who finds it first gets to open a special gift or the first gift of Christmas. I had never heard of this until this year. Since my kids are probably too young, I thought it would be fun to try it out on my girlfriends. Success!
The whole night was so much fun! It was a big enough deal where I needed things to look cute and the house to be pretty clean, but it was low key enough to where I did not feel stressed at all. Big Shout Out to Megan who helped pull it all together! And a big thanks to Megan, Emily, and Cassie who started the clean up process before they left.
Place Setting
Wine Glass Candle Holders
Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving was fantastic this year! Brian and I hosted his family: his mom, sister, her husband, his parents, and his friend Chris (who was a Thanksgiving orphan). Cooking + Scheduling Chaos + House Full of People = Happy Carrie! It was so much fun!
The day before, we kept the boys home from school. This was a change in the original plan which was to send them off to school. But Jacob was SO into it this year and extremely excited about our "Thanksgiving Feast" that we knew he would love to help. And if we keep Jacob home, we can't send Andrew to school (not in our minds at least). Andrew helped me cook, and you know, he did really well! He gets excited and prefers to do things "the Andrew way," but the threat of getting kicked out of the kitchen was enough to keep him in line for the most part. He helped me with the fruit salad, corn pudding, and green bean casserole. Jacob helped Brian with cleaning the house. Actually, he didn't help that much. He put on all of his tool belt, safety goggles, and John Deere cap and pretended to work. Brian and I were both surprised, but he kept himself busy. And props to Brian! He took off work for the whole week, and he worked his little tail off around the house! It looked amazing! And it kind of worked out for me because I prefer to be in the kitchen, and he prefers to stay out of the kitchen. :)
Wednesday evening the boys went to Allison's house. They helped to crumble up the cornbread for her dressing/stuffing. They loved it! Late that night Emily brought the turkey to the house, and we schemed about how to baste and roast Tom. Jacob stayed up to watch her prep the turkey. He just had to see Tom before he was cooking. When I put Andrew to bed, I asked him if he was excited about our Thanksgiving Feast. He sat up in bed, and he proudly listed everything that he helped to make that day! To me, its another sign that I'm gonna need to keep an eye on this boy....probably for forever. It was amazing to me because we had started cooking about 12 hours earlier.
The big day came very quickly after only about 3 hours of sleep. I put Tom in the oven about 30 minutes later than I had originally planned. Our guests are all very casual, so I was banking on their not being uptighth about my missing my 1:00 lunch time mark. I was going to baste Tom with his own drippings, but he was not very fatty at all! So on a whim, I made a baste from butter, thyme, poultry seasoning, and sage. I only missed my mark by 45 minutes, so I would've been rocking it had I put the turkey in when I originally planned. I'll take it! Everyone was so nice about the meal and our home.
When Emily arrived around 11:00-ish, the wine started flowing, and it flowed very smoothly for this lady right here...I had not had anything to eat before lunch time. Three glasses later, I was ready for a nap! lol! So I snuck upstairs to put the boys down for their naps (which did not go so well). When Brian came upstairs to see what was going on, I was fast asleep, and the boys were playing. I felt much better and stayed away from the wine the rest of the day. I was happy to see that everyone had made himself comfortable at the house. They were veggin' out watching the Cowboys and visiting with each other. My parents brought Matthew over to play for a while, too!
At the end of the day, I told Brian that I thought the whole day was a success. He told me, "I think it's the best we've had in a while." Anyone who knows Brian knows that things like this are not said unless he truly means it. So, of course, I cried. :) It was awesome, and he is already talking about hosting again next year!
Here are some pics. I did not take any, but Allison took a couple. One is of the table, and the other is Emily, Antonio, Brian, and me in the kitchen (or kitchen area).
The day before, we kept the boys home from school. This was a change in the original plan which was to send them off to school. But Jacob was SO into it this year and extremely excited about our "Thanksgiving Feast" that we knew he would love to help. And if we keep Jacob home, we can't send Andrew to school (not in our minds at least). Andrew helped me cook, and you know, he did really well! He gets excited and prefers to do things "the Andrew way," but the threat of getting kicked out of the kitchen was enough to keep him in line for the most part. He helped me with the fruit salad, corn pudding, and green bean casserole. Jacob helped Brian with cleaning the house. Actually, he didn't help that much. He put on all of his tool belt, safety goggles, and John Deere cap and pretended to work. Brian and I were both surprised, but he kept himself busy. And props to Brian! He took off work for the whole week, and he worked his little tail off around the house! It looked amazing! And it kind of worked out for me because I prefer to be in the kitchen, and he prefers to stay out of the kitchen. :)
Wednesday evening the boys went to Allison's house. They helped to crumble up the cornbread for her dressing/stuffing. They loved it! Late that night Emily brought the turkey to the house, and we schemed about how to baste and roast Tom. Jacob stayed up to watch her prep the turkey. He just had to see Tom before he was cooking. When I put Andrew to bed, I asked him if he was excited about our Thanksgiving Feast. He sat up in bed, and he proudly listed everything that he helped to make that day! To me, its another sign that I'm gonna need to keep an eye on this boy....probably for forever. It was amazing to me because we had started cooking about 12 hours earlier.
The big day came very quickly after only about 3 hours of sleep. I put Tom in the oven about 30 minutes later than I had originally planned. Our guests are all very casual, so I was banking on their not being uptighth about my missing my 1:00 lunch time mark. I was going to baste Tom with his own drippings, but he was not very fatty at all! So on a whim, I made a baste from butter, thyme, poultry seasoning, and sage. I only missed my mark by 45 minutes, so I would've been rocking it had I put the turkey in when I originally planned. I'll take it! Everyone was so nice about the meal and our home.
When Emily arrived around 11:00-ish, the wine started flowing, and it flowed very smoothly for this lady right here...I had not had anything to eat before lunch time. Three glasses later, I was ready for a nap! lol! So I snuck upstairs to put the boys down for their naps (which did not go so well). When Brian came upstairs to see what was going on, I was fast asleep, and the boys were playing. I felt much better and stayed away from the wine the rest of the day. I was happy to see that everyone had made himself comfortable at the house. They were veggin' out watching the Cowboys and visiting with each other. My parents brought Matthew over to play for a while, too!
At the end of the day, I told Brian that I thought the whole day was a success. He told me, "I think it's the best we've had in a while." Anyone who knows Brian knows that things like this are not said unless he truly means it. So, of course, I cried. :) It was awesome, and he is already talking about hosting again next year!
Here are some pics. I did not take any, but Allison took a couple. One is of the table, and the other is Emily, Antonio, Brian, and me in the kitchen (or kitchen area).
The Great State Fair of Texas
This year Brian and I took off work on a Wednesday to take the boys to the State Fair of Texas! We had so much fun, and a weekday is definitely the time to go. At first, Andrew said he did not want to go to the fair, so we had to call it a carnival. We think it is because Jacob talked about a dragon ride he rode on last year. Andrew likes to look at scary things, but he has no interest in being near them.
First we saw the Bob the Builder exhibit. I'm pretty sure we can see that any time at the Museum of Nature and Science though. It was not listed on the Fair map. We were the only family in there for most of the time.
Next we stopped off to see the Wooly Mammoth just outside the museum. Again, we can see it any time we want.
Then we had the obligatory Fletcher's Corny Dogs. Well, Brian and I had the corny dogs. The boys sang songs and laughed. And then we took a quick picture of the boys with Big Tex! Can't miss that!
Then we went on this little farm that they have set up. It is a really neat thing for the kids. It's a complete play farm with animals and a garden. They have to do some work, then get the product (milk from cows, wool from sheep, vegetable from garden), sell it to market, and then they can buy a snack with the money. Jacob now wants a farmer's basket.
First we saw the Bob the Builder exhibit. I'm pretty sure we can see that any time at the Museum of Nature and Science though. It was not listed on the Fair map. We were the only family in there for most of the time.
Next we stopped off to see the Wooly Mammoth just outside the museum. Again, we can see it any time we want.
Then we had the obligatory Fletcher's Corny Dogs. Well, Brian and I had the corny dogs. The boys sang songs and laughed. And then we took a quick picture of the boys with Big Tex! Can't miss that!
Then we went on this little farm that they have set up. It is a really neat thing for the kids. It's a complete play farm with animals and a garden. They have to do some work, then get the product (milk from cows, wool from sheep, vegetable from garden), sell it to market, and then they can buy a snack with the money. Jacob now wants a farmer's basket.
Next we walked around A LOT and finally sat down for a storytime with Mother Goose. Andrew probably could've fallen asleep, so we decided to spend the last of our coupons on Funnel Cake and head out. The boys slept on the way home, and then we were all pretty lazy that evening. We had a great time, and I can't wait to go again next year!
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