Mathematical Mama

I feel like a negligent blogger. Things have been so crazy around here because of the holidays. I'm making several presents, so I have been a knitting fiend.  I have also re-discovered video games.  That in of itself is dangerous. In addition, I have also started watching a little boy full time.  He's totally rad, and the kids get along really well, which is a complete blessing. I just feel a little spread thin some days.  Like I have all these things to accomplish and not nearly enough time to finish them. Like Christmas cards. I just got all the supplies to make them today.  It's the 12th of December.  Crunch. Time. With all of these things happening, I feel like I don't have enough "me" time. Monday was kind of glorious.  I asked my father in law to come and watch the kids so I could meet a friend for coffee and get a pedicure. Even tho the pedicure didn't end up happening, I did go to CVS and get some polish so I could give my toes some love

5:30am  : I wake up to the sound of my daughter coughing.  A. Lot.  To the point where she is barely breathing in between.  I picked her up, gave her a cup of water, and sat her next to the husband while I took care of my morning stuff. I hear her choke and M say, "Aw!  Baby... you take after daddy!" She had spit up mucus all over her jammies.  Luckily, I got there in time to catch the second go round with a towel. I like to think that I'm fairly low key when it comes to parenting... but there is still that part of my head that jumps to the worst case scenario when it comes to my kiddos.  This time I was frantically thinking back to make sure she is up to date with her Whooping cough vaccinations. M then told me that the same thing happens to him whenever he gets a stuffy head.... and had since he was a small one. I relaxed and started to get JP ready for preschool.  He requested cereal, a switch from our pancake kick the last few days. (Microwave pancakes = best thi

So... as of the 26th of October, I am gallbladderless. Seriously, that organ can suck it... she was no friend of mine. The aftermath has been an eye opening situation.  I feel tons better than I really should days after surgery.  Needless to say, I am finding out what my limitations are very quickly.  I cannot carry laundry baskets.  I cannot walk thru Michaels for yarn then survive the rest of the day without a nap. I also can't hang out with my daughter alone for 3 hours without requiring a nap. I kind of feel like a really old lady.... that is awesome and not nauseous and can eat whatever the hell she wants! I'm trying not to get too excited about getting back to running, and just concentrating on feeling better. The recovery process has also held some sadness.  I finally realized how bad I had been feeling on a daily basis... how sick I had become over the course of a year.  A dear friend told me before my surgery, "You have a rotting organ inside of you.  Some

I've been absent from my blog the last several months. To be completely frank, I've been absent from my life as well. For the last 6 months, I have felt like crap every single day. When this first came about, I honestly thought I was pregnant.  It started as a nagging feeling of nausea after every meal, much like my first trimesters were.  After taking pregnancy tests twice a week for a little over a month, I went to my family doc, thinking to myself, "This is NOT OK!" My family doc seemed fairly confident that my gallbladder was causing my pain.  I agreed with him, as my symptoms were textbook. He sent me for an ultrasound, then a hida scan.  Both came back normal, so he referred me to a GI dude. My specialist is a super nice guy.  I felt like he actually gave a crap about my health, and didn't just go thru the motions.  After my first appointment, he set up an upper GI and a colonoscopy... both scary words when you are a 30 year old. I got a letter in t

I don't think about getting out of the house most days. Staying at home with the kids has become the norm. We have breakfast. They play until lunch. We eat again. Z takes a nap.  More playing.  I fix dinner.  Z eats 4x as much as JP does.  Playplayplay.  Jammies and bed. Then mommy shoots zombies. (Have I mentioned my newly-found addiction to XBox and Left for Dead...?!?) I don't get out much anymore except for craft nights. I didn't really think about being under socialized... until this week.  I kept finding myself in situation where I'm interacting with SAHMs who are... not very socially with it.  Women who don't have much interaction, except thru the internet or Facebook, and who are VERY passionate about the choices they make for their kids. Not to say that's a bad thing... it was just very intense... and in your face. More like on your computer monitor. Maybe it's just a difference in personality.  I'd like to think I'm pretty laid back

There are times when I hate the internet. I hate that people have such access to boundless supplies of research materials, both accurate and inaccurate. I hate that sometimes parents make decisions for their kids based on misinformation. I hate that some parents aren't more open to different methods.  Not to try them, but just to realize that there are different ways of rearing a child, and even if it's not the path you choose, it's still not wrong. I feel this way because I can relate. I chose to start my daughter on a bottle in addition to breast feeding before 4 weeks.  According to some people, I didn't operate with my child's best interest at the forefront of my conscious. Instead of taking the leap in preparing my daughter for my return into the work force when she was 6 weeks old, I should have been foregoing sleep, and nursing her for HOURS on end. I'm a horrible mother. When I was working full time, we often made something specifically for my

Couldn't resist the little nod to my husband's newest passion... GOLF! Anyway... I like to say that if I had life to do over, I wouldn't change a thing.  I learned from every mistake I made.  As time passes, I think I have gained wisdom and tact from my mistakes... which are many more than a few, I can assure you!  Raising children is different.  There are a few things that I would change, given the opportunity.  My kids wouldn't be anymore awesome... cause that's not possible.  They are at the highest peak of awesomeness.  But I think knowing then what I know now would have made me feel like a better mom. So... here are the things I would change: 1: Breastfeeding. I did breastfeed both of my kiddos.  JP for 9 months, and Z for 6.  I feel like I gave up both times without a real fight.  With JP, I was working full time and pumping 3 times while I was at work, but we still needed to supplement with formula.  His first meal was formula cause I was scared and h

...and by joy, I actually mean the exact opposite of that. JP is a really good kid.  Seriously. I'm not just saying that cause I made him from scratch.  He's pretty rad. We have our days, tho.  And one of those days just so happened to be yesterday. He was refusing to listen to me.  Every time I asked him anything or corrected his ridiculously bad behavior, he would either shout "NO!!!" or scream and run into his room. Extraordinarily frustrating... After several time outs and lots of yelling from both my son and me, he turns to me after getting out of time out and says, "Stop saying NO to me, mom!  You're being really mean!" I could feel the anger boiling up into my face.  Where is the well behaved little boy that all his grandparents love?  Where is my fun-loving son who doesn't talk back?  What have I done wrong?!?!?!?!? Then a teeny voice inside me told me to be calm and ask him to elaborate. (yes, my 4 year old knows what elaborate means.

We just got home from a play date! The kids were completely wore out... Which means a rare moment of quiet for me.  At first, it felt like I was a kid in a candy store.. how do I spend these precious minutes?!  Laundry?  Dishes?  Nap? Knitting?  Catch up on my DVR? Sit in a semi-vegetative state and just stare? So... I'm recording our morning! JP and I were talking about it all morning.  He's in a *ahem* unique place right now.  We have been struggling with listening and not throwing fits when he doesn't like what I have to say.  So...he's a 4 year old. What do you do...? He actually did really well... no fits to speak of. He did, however, throw a cup of pool water at me... from the back. I tensed up, falling into the "furious apology" mindset.  Then I looked at the other women, 3 other moms who have kids at JP's school, and they all continued to chat, gloriously ignoring the fact that I was completely mortified. I relaxed.  This is what it's l

I have a birth story for miss Z, so I wanted to document the few fleeting details about my firstborn, before they are gone forever out of my head! So, here it is... JP's story. My pregnancy with him was fantastic!  I didn't have morning sickness past the first trimester (it stopped at 13 weeks on the dot) and I didn't crave anything weird, but did eat everything sour in sight.  Like, bag of sour patch kids with a 2 liter of lemonade...on a regular basis. Which probably explains my weight gain... but anyway... My OB took me off work at 36 weeks due to migraines.  Once I could lay down as soon as I felt one coming on, they were completely manageable. My sister was working at a nail place, so 15 days before my due date, I went to get a pedicure.  Since I carry large anyway, I got asked several times if I was past my due date, or if I was carrying twins or triplets.  Or both. And the owner of the nail place asked me very politely not to go into labor.  Apparently she thoug

My husband woke me up this morning around 7:40 before he headed to work.  I snuggled back under the covers for a few minutes and checked my Facebook.  I admit, I'm totally addicted.  Since I quit my job to stay home with the kiddos, it's my main means of communication with just about everyone.  Anywho, I see on there that JP's school is closed today due to a water-main break.  My heart sunk.  I was so looking forward to the 2.5 hours of freedom after the day I had with the boy yesterday. If my life were a movie, this is the point where the scene would fade out, probably with some cheesy music, and the following would be in soft focus to further illustrate the flash-backiness. Yesterday was rough.  JP was cranky pants from the getgo, screaming every time I said something that he didn't like, or gave an answer he didn't like.  Everything was "WHY?!?!?!?!" Church felt awkward to me.  I felt like all eyes were on me and my screaming kid.  We had lots of vi

Oh... I had a lovely Mother's Day!  Thank you for asking! (I just assume that's the question on everyone's mind...) Actually... it was pretty good.  We had a last minute change in plans and went over to my Granny's house and enjoyed some Joe's pizza with my father and mother -in-law... I love me some Joe's, for real. The not-so-great part... Z is teething up a storm.  Apparently the eye teeth are horrible to cut.  She has turned into a fussy, needy little thing.  I had kind of a realization yesterday.  I think a few members of my family are almost scared to talk to me.  I can only assume that it's because I'm married to a pastor and I have talked openly about being saved.  It's almost like they are afraid of me bashing their Atheist-ness or trying to get them to believe the Bible. Here's the thing... I try very hard not to be a "in your face, believe what I believe or you're burning in the big fire" Christian.  The Bible says

...is hard! For real.  You have visions of every moment being perfect.  Surely my child will never have a blow-out diaper or pee all over himself or talk back or hit or repeat something unsavory. Yeah... completely realistic. Most days are pretty good. Yesterday was not. Z is teething.  The first several teeth were no sweat, I didn't even know she was teething until they broke thru!  Apparently, eye teeth are harder.  She had a fever and was cranky pants all day long.  Like "hold me so I can try to get away, but I'll scream if you put me down" cranky. Luckily she took 2 naps, so there's that. JP was being particularly defiant...It seemed like he kept a mental checklist of everything I ever told him not to do, like putting his feet on his sister, throwing toys, pressing buttons on a loud toy in rapid succession, pushing his sister down, pulling his sister's hair, and did all of them. Or it could just be that I had a short fuse on account of the migraine

When we bought our house 2 years ago, my husband had visions of turning the finished half of our basement into a home theater, complete with projector screen tv, fridge, and 4-6 easy chairs, on lifts of course! The basement quickly turned into the "playland".  After finding a sectioned baby gate to block both the stairs and the "unfinished" part of the basement, and a super comfy couch, I loved the playland.  JP could play and not hurt himself on anything and I could take a nap before work.  Best of everything, I thought. Now that I'm staying home with the kiddos, I had an idea to split the basement in half with the baby gate, offering a small portion of a room for all my stuff.  A computer, my sewing machine, a table for jewelry making and maybe scrapbooking, and in a perfect world, a comfy chair for knitting.  The kids can see me, they can play, I can relax a little while laundry is working, everyone is happy! In trying to create "Mommyland" sever

*in my best Bob Dylan impression...which admittedly isn't that good...* I just glanced at the clock hanging over my TV while catching up on my DVR, winding down after another day with my teething, almost 11 month old daughter, and my increasingly active 4 year old son. Some days bedtime is like heaven... I finally get to chill for a few minutes before heading downstairs to start the laundry rat-race again.  I get a little me time... time which moms, whether stay at home or working, rarely get.  Time for us.  Time when we are not needed RIGHT NOW!!! When the little people who depend so heavily on us for just about everything are tucked safely into bed and not trying to break into the cabinets to play with the small appliances, or Andy Dufresne under the gate in the back yard, after taking a hint from the dog. (Yes.  That was a Shawshank reference. And yes, I did use "Andy Dufresne" as a verb.  You're welcome) Anywho... my realization staring at the date on my atomic

The idea of writing was a good one while Matt was away... however, a little ambitious.  I have some absolutely wonderful people in my life that kept my mind occupied and the two weeks went relatively fast, once the kids were over being sick. Most nights I knitted on the couch until I was falling asleep.  I did manage to finish 7-9 bibs for miss Z.  Only takes me about a day to knock one out!

So, first full day without the husband here. Kids finally getting over whatever creeping crud he left us with... I finally got the congestion part. Luckily I had some sinus headache meds. JP went back to pre-school today, and since it was grandparent's day, my fil went with him! I got a teeny nap in after school, the kids napped, then we went to hang with the in-laws before the women's meeting. What I missed : I missed him being in the shower when I got up, saying "'Morning, baby!" What I didn't miss : The alarms waking me up at 5:30am. Now... off  to bed!

My husband kissed me and our kids this morning and boarded a plane to NC, where he will be on a business trip for the next 15 days. A few things will happen while he's gone: 1. I am going to try and blog every night after the kids go to bed... both as a recap to get my mind right, and to maintain my ever loving sanity. 2. I am going to list one thing I miss with the husband gone. 3. I am also going to list one thing I do not miss. Today is unofficially day one as I saw him this morning. Oh, but was it a doozie... Hubs brought home a bug from work.  Yuck.  The last 2 days I have kept JP home from school since he picked it up.  Today he felt a lot better, but his eyes didn't look 100%.  So, another day couch surfing. Today, Z woke up (after having cut her first tooth yesterday) with a runny nose and a lowgrade fever.  Greaaaaaaaate. She fought me for a solid 3 hours this morning (she usually takes a nap around 9:30 or so) exhausted, snotty, I'm sure her gums were hur

2/26/2012 10:30pm I'm waiting to publish these records until my husband returns from his trip, as I am really not comfortable with advertising that I am alone with 2 small kids... for 2 weeks. My husband is a branch manager for PNC.  Since PNC recently acquired RBC's US operations, they are sending several seasoned managers & tellers to oversee the conversion.  My husband is going to the Plymouth, NC branch. I'm kind of terrified.  I know that I'll be ok and it's not forever, and that LOTS of other women have it lots worse than I do... But I'm gonna miss my honey! He got his suitcase out, and I got a little light-headed.  Like, this just got real. EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk!

I'm going to be flying under the radar for the next few weeks... Stay thirsty, my friends!

I don't make a habit of putting myself out there when it comes to politics and religion. I'm not going to push my beliefs on anyone.  If someone wants to talk about religion, I'm happy to oblige. On HLN this morning, they were discussing the Republican debate from last night... I didn't see it, but the clips that aired really bothered me. All people were created with free will.  As a Christian, I don't agree with abortion.  I wouldn't have one.  But it's also none of my business if anyone else gets one.  It's nobody's business but the person who is getting one.  And it's between that person and God. Period. It's no one's business if a woman decides to use contraception except hers.  Realistically, a very small percentage of people wait until they are married to have sex.  That's a choice that a woman makes for herself, and politicians shouldn't act like they should have a say in it.  It sickens me to think that these men have

My daughter is teething.  Finally, and really?!? The day I decide to stop coddling her and picking her up every time she screams during nap time, and she legit needs me to hold her. JP put up zero fight for nap time today, even tho he didn't sleep yesterday.  I told him he could come out after 3.5 hours... I thought he was asleep!  He was just being really quiet. Today, no fight. Now I'm going in every 5-7 minutes or so and laying Z back down... she still stands up and cries.  She's only been in there for 15 minutes or so... I really need just 30 minutes of nap time... anything above and beyond that is icing on the cake.  Mommy needs to run today. I might need more coffee.

I have been spoiling my children rotten. No... I mean it... I came to this realization this morning when I went to pick JP up from school.  His teacher said he was kind of in a fog both today and yesterday... which is very uncharacteristic for my little man.  She asked if he takes a nap when he gets home, and made a face when my reply was "No."  Not the first person that has responded in that way. When his pediatrician told me that he really needed to still be napping, i shrugged it off and told her that we try, but it ends up being quiet time since he simply refuses.  Today was different.  I made up my mind on the way home that we would genuinely give it a shot.  No books, no lights on... I told him it was time for bed.  Not nap... bed.  He fought me briefly, but laid down and I haven't heard a peep.  I realized that I'm still operating with the "we're going to be leaving shortly" mentality... It's so ingrained since I was working JP's whole

7:20am- Mommy's alarm goes off. I get up, turn on JP's light and tell him its time to wake up and use the potty. Proceed to bathroom to grab a quick shower as it has been 3 days. Gross. 7:25am- My husband pops his head in to kiss me goodbye and leaves for work. 7:26am - Blissful shower interrupted by JP telling me that he stayed dry all night! Very proud, and yet fussy. 7:27am-Exit the shower. Tell JP to grab clothes for the day, spend 3 minutes explaining why he needs a short sleeved shirt. He's not convinced by the snow outside. If I was wearing more than a towel, I would open the front door to illustrate my point. 7:30am- Compromise on wearing a long sleeved shirt under a short sleeved shirt.  JP gets his other clothes while I try to speed-dress. 7:31am - JP runs into the bedroom, clothes picked out, and brings his dinosaurs to play on the bed while I get dressed. 7:37am - finally dressed after a barrage of questions about dinosaurs and why he can't watch tv in

It's been almost 6 months since I joined the ranks of the SAHM.  I've been enjoying almost every second spent with my children (God knows moms need a break every now and again) and being an all around awesome homemaker.  (most of the time)  One thing that has taken some hard adjustment is spending money!  Unfortunately, budgeting for me isn't something automatic.  I wish it was! Just recently I have traded my Homepride wheat bread (2.99 a loaf!) for Kroger brand wheat bread (1.00 a loaf) and my Aussie shampoo (3.79 per bottle) for the good ol' Suave (.99 a bottle) I got so accustomed to the extra money every pay period.  Too used to buying little extras that sound good at the time... To picking up name brand (insert product here) instead of the store brand. Oreos, Jiff peanut butter, Red Baron frozen pizza.  It's not the one item splurge at the grocery that eats up my budget every two weeks, it's the several items that I purchase that cost more than they ha

Here we are again... I started the Couch to 5k program again this morning!  It was getting increasingly difficult to occupy 2 children simultaneously while in a different room.  Since JP started preschool this week, and Z woke up early enough to nap right after he was dropped off, I finally had the time to hit the treadmill for 30 min or so.  It felt great!  Now all that needs to happen is a stricter diet.  I kind of hate all the people that pioneered the whole "processed food" business.  With the white sugar and white rice and flour and bread and pasta.  They're off my Christmas card list.  All of them. It wouldn't be a big deal if it didn't all taste so good!  Now that Z is on her way to being completely weaned (by her own choice.... and the fact that she bites me unless it's first thing in the morning)  I have been enjoying a cup or 4 of coffee.  And with that comes all the fabulous, addictive coffee creamers.  The Coldstone creamery flavor, and the Yo