Little bitty update and some yums from this week

I put a little update on Keegan's health status on Facebook tonight, but I figured I should probably put a little more extensive one on here for anyone who cares to read some details :)

I came home from work last night and Keegan had a fever of 101.5. Which wasn't unbelievably high- but high enough to make him super fussy, uncomfortable and restless. Last night was a rough night. Keegan and I were up throughout the night, and up bright and early this morning. I stayed home from work because I called the doctor and they seemed concerned that maybe this fever meant his ear infection was not gone.

We spent the morning snuggling close, and then finally got ready to head over to see Dr. Josh (our absolutely favorite pediatrician EVER!). They checked him out- and his ears were still pretty infected. His fever had subsided, so that was good. However, they decided that we would finally be able to head to the ENT. I was super relieved because truly, I just want him to have his ears feeling better, so if tubes are what it takes, it's what it takes. We're still not sure on the date of the first appointment with the ENT, but hopefully it'll be soon :).

They did decide to give us a super strong antibiotic to try and give him some relief over the next week or so until we can get in. It's so strong in fact, that the only pharmacy in the Metro-Lansing area that carries it is over at Sparrow Hospital. So Keegan and I had quite the afternoon of errands all for his poor little ears!

And HUGE NEWS: Tonight, after Kris got home from work, he practiced rolling with Keegan, and he absolutely rolled like a mad man. He worked SO hard, and finally manage to completely roll unassisted, and lifted his head high! SO proud of him... sick and all!!!

Okay... so onto some other delicious things from this week...

I made this on Sunday for our Lifegroup- and we loved them so much, I made them again last night so Kris and I could enjoy and entire back to ourselves!

Monkey Bread Muffins:

Seriously, SO good, and SO easy. You just take a stick of butter and cut it up into 1/12's- with a cube in each muffin cup. Put a heaping teaspoon of sugar into each muffin cup, and then sprinkle cinnamon on top. Then take Pillsbury biscuits (or the off brand- what ev!) and break them up into threes or so- and fill the muffin tins. Sprinkle the biscuits with a little bit more sugar and cinnamon, and then bake at 350 degrees or so until golden brown. When you take them out of the oven, drizzle them with sweetened condensed milk.

Oh. My. Word. Seriously incredible. We have a new favorite.

Then tonight for dinner, I decided to take a recipe from Crock Pot Girls, but I kind of did my own twist with ingredients that I had in my pantry...

Bacon Ranch Crock Pot Chicken:

Mix 1 can of cream of celery soup, with a cup of sour cream, and 1/2 a package of ranch dressing powder. Mix in a little bit of milk to loosen it up. Then, add about 1/2 a cup of real bacon bits. Add 3-4 thawed chicken breasts and cook on low for 4-5 hours. THEN, about a 1/2 hour before serving, bowl up some egg noodles and mix into the sauce.

Kris and I both agreed that this would be a new regular dish in our house going forward. SO delish.



Big Kid, Five Months Old!

Okay, are me and Kris the only ones who can't believe that Peasey is already FIVE MONTHS OLD?! Do you realize that's almost SIX MONTHS OLD, which is half a YEAR old?! AHH! It's so wonderful but so heartbreaking at the same time!

And, lets just say we've been SO busy today that I haven't been able to get a "five month" picture. So, I'll use some pictures that we took yesterday, which is close enough because he may be growing fast, but not fast enough for it to make a huge difference in 12 hours :)

I'm FIVE months old, today!

Keegan Michael, this has been a full and exhausting month. We absolutely adore you, and you are such a joy- but you've had an ear infection this whole month so you're up quite a bit at night again. Poor baby. We've exhausted all of our antibiotic options at the pediatrician- if when we go back for your check up on Thursday your ears are still infected, then they're sending us to the ENT to talk about tubes. Yikes!

But, because of all of these doctor's appointments we've been able to monitor your weight. You are now 14 lbs 10 oz, and are wearing mostly 9 month clothes now. You are decently long- but still kind of skinny. Things that need to fit in the waist you're still about 3-6 month, but in length you're definitely 9 month. You had a HUGE two week growth spurt where you were eating like no body's business, and gained over a pound in two weeks. That's nuts!

You LOVE to eat. You now grab for all of our food and like to lean forward and open your mouth anticipating a bite. I don't think you have a favorite food because you love it ALL! We normally mix puree's with either oatmeal or rice, and quite frequently you eat two full containers of baby food with cereal in one sitting. BIG BOY! And you absolutely love Mum-Mum vegetable crackers. You will devour one in just a few minutes.

One thing that's super cute is that you like to lounge in your Bumbo. I forgot to take a picture- but it's so funny. You're kind of lazy and sit up straight to eat for just a couple minutes and then you lean completely to your right side and throw your body over the side of your chair and lounge and make it so hard to feed you- but boy, are you comfortable! HA!

You are now offically in size 2 diapers. We still have a few 1/2's left, but we'll put those down in the basement and save those for the next baby!

You are still a growling machine. You are very vocal, and love to sit at the dinner table or kitchen counter and chat it up while grown up's are talking. SO funny.

You love your Johnny Jump Up, your Glow Worm, and your "Key's." You've figured out how to take the rings off of the key ring separately like a big kid now, and it's so cute! You have a scooty booty- and your favorite spot is still your playmat. You LOVE it and scream for joy and scoot around 180 degrees. Super fun.

Keegan, I can't believe that every month truly does get better and better. We have good days and bad days, but more good days then bad. There is nothing better then sitting and chatting with you and having you laugh your booty off at everything I say and do just because I'm your mom. You are the best. I am nothing but confident in the plans God has for your life. You are incredibly special and I know that you have an amazing future ahead of you. Thanks for loving me so and being so easy to love in return.

We had a fantastic weekend. It was super busy, but lots of fun. We went to Art Prize in Grand Rapids and went to my parents house and spent the day with them and my Aunt Sue and my cousin Becky and her daughter Rose. Keegan LOVES them, so it was fun to spend more time with them.

Rose is hysterical, and Kris loved it because he was able to do his "magic tricks" and she really thought they were good. HA! It was adorable because when we were leaving Rose actually started crying because she wanted to go to Kris' house... Haha! SO cute.

We had a great time seeing some cool sights and reminicing about some fun times we had together. Now we're itching to get to Chicago to see them again sooner rather than later! :)

Our little family is so happy going into this week. Kris actually has Thursday and Friday off so we get to spend some family time together more than just a busy rushed weekend! So, we're excited going into Monday- because the week will be short!

Everyone else enjoy your week, too!

Here's a photo to leave you with of Keegan and his cousin, Rose watching Veggie Tales together. I adore this picture:

I should be a chef...

Not to brag or anything... :)

Ha, but, seriously... tonight I made such a good dinner. The main thing I can brag on is the chicken corn chowder that I made- all without a recipe and flying by the seat of my pants. Of course, I forgot to take a picture before we ate it. But, here's the recipe because I know if I don't document it here I will end up forgetting what I did.

Ingredients:

1 bag of buttered corn (I used one of those steam in the microwave ones)
2 small jalepenos
1 can of chicken broth
1/2 can of sweet corn
2 large chopped and peeled carrots
1/4 a vidalia onion chopped
3 chopped celery stalks
2 cups of skim milk\
3 large chicken breasts (diced)

Directions:


Steam bag of buttered corn. After cooked, place in blender with can of chicken broth. Blend. Cut and seed jalepeno's- add to the corn mixture and blend until pureed. In a separate pan cook up chicken pieces. In a large pan (big enough for soup) brown the carrots, celery and onions. Poor corn mixture from the blender in with the cooked vegatables. Add cooked chicken. Stir in two cups of milk. Add remaining 1/2 can of sweet corn. Let cook on low heat for about an hour. Season as desired.

SO YUM, and SO EASY! :)

Also, I found a recipe for an Autumn Chopped Salad on Pinterest, and I decided to do my own twist on it.

Ingredients:

Two Chopped Romain Lettuce Heads
1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 a cup of dried cherries
1/8 of cut red onion
1/2 a cup of real bacon bits
1/4 a pear diced
1/2 a cup of poppyseed dressing
1/2 a cup of balsamic vinegarette

Directions:

Mix it all together! :)

SO GOOD. Kris and I both decided that it was the best salad we've ever had. Heads up: Anyone that will be seeing me on Thanksgiving- this is the dish I'm bringing. I call the salad! :) Ha.

You know how I said I found a similar salad recipe on Pinterest?

That is my newest absolute addiction. I cannot get enough of it. The absolute best DIY ideas, incredible recipes- and I think I've even figured out what theme I want to do for Keegan's 1st Birthday party already because of that website! Let me know if you're on Pinterest if I'm not already following you. I LOVE to see what other people love, and steal some of their awesome ideas!

what's my problem?!

Why can't I be better about actually blogging? My whole goal is to document our lives at this point so that I can look back and see what we did during these sweet times in our lives. Why am I such a lame-o at blogging then?

I think it's probably similar to SO many things that we do in life. I am the QUEEN of putting things off because I make them to be so much more than they really are. I think of "having" to do things like blog, do my devotions, go grocery shopping, etc. But I actually LOVE doing all of the above. Why do I have such a tendency to dread things that I actually end up truly enjoying when all is said and done?! Ugh. Drives me nuts.

Anyway, this past weekend I decided on a family verse for our little Karolkiewicz family. I realized that when Keegan starts fussing my little catch-phrase (you know, the one that when I keep saying it while he's older I know he'll just roll his eyes and say, "ugh, mom") is "Joyful always!" So, needless to say, our family verse is now:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Thessalonians 5:16-18

Talk about a lot to live up to. But I am so thankful that I don't have to live up to anything. That if I strive to live like Christ- His grace is enough. He is sufficient enough, and like we've heard so much at Riverview the past few weeks, He will "Sustain you until the end." So thankful for that grace because I would far from measure up.

I'm so happy that fall is in full swing. I will admit, I am the first person to complain when it's cold out (so hopefully I can meditate on our new family verse enough to start giving thanks for the snow and cold, too:), so I'm really relishing in this in between weather. We made our first pot of chicken noodle soup last weekend- and it got me so much more excited for cooler weather and the fun and treats that come with it.

And can I just say, since my last post a week and a half ago, I swear- Keegan has grown SO much.

Mr. Cozy. Okay, I'm not going to lie. I've been making him wear his little baby jammies just a few more times before they absolutely can't squeeze into them anymore. This is one of his little gowns- I think his feet stick out at all times, but I just can't bear to put it away yet! :) Ha.

Seriously? From the last blog post and that picture of him in this jump up... Do you see that roll under his chin?! I really don't think that was there last week... My little chubby bunny baby boo boo!!! Seriously, this kid will eat SO much. He'll eat an entire tub of baby food with oatmeal/rice cereal in it, and then cry until we give him a bowl of applesauce with oatmeal and then top all of that off with a few ounces of formula. He goes to the doctor on Wednesday to make sure his double ear infection is gone (yup, after his THIRD round of antibiotics... ugh), so I'll be excited to see how much he weighs. He still wasn't 14lbs last week, and he's ALMOST 5 months old, so I'm hopin' we break the 14 lb mark :)

Big kid has been practicing sitting up like this on his own. We have pillows behind him just in case he falls, but he just seems to feel like a grown up when he does this. He'll do this for a few minutes before he gets exhausted and keeps falling right on his face and then will screaammmm until we sit him up again so he can keep sitting like a big kid. Love seeing him grow up!

Anyway, we have a few busy days coming up, but it seems like these past few weeks have absolutely flown by. Before I know it its' always another weekend (it's fabulous!).

Enjoy your days, all. I have a feeling that I probably won't blog again as soon as I'd like too... hopefully I'm wrong, though! :)

Be a blessing

This has been a wonderful week despite the health in our household. Keegan is going on his third round of antibiotics to try and kick this infection that moved from his throat to his ears. Bless him. He passed it to his momma (aka, ME) and I'm on my fifth day of medicine and feeling just slightly better. According to the doctor, neither Keegan or I were contagious after 24-48 hours on the antibiotics- so don't worry if you've seen us this week :)

Because of the epidemic in our home we've been laying pretty low. We went up to Grand Rapids on Saturday to visit with family, but I had woken up on Saturday morning feeling pretty junky. Unfortunately I couldn't really enjoy our day because I was just out of it. Sunday and Monday we stayed home all day long and rested up trying to get me and Keegy better. It was actually a very, very relaxing Labor Day. I think if I would have been feeling better I would have been a lot less likely to actually relax!

Now to update... Here are a couple newbies in the Karolkiewicz household that I'm realizing we cannot do without right now!

First, the baby swing is officially in the basement. For some reason Keegan will NOT sit in his swing here at home, but thoroughly enjoys swinging til his little heart's content at school (daycare). So NOW, our new Big Kid toy is his Johnny Jump Up, and he just can't seem to get enough of it:

Second, my cousin, Ellen who has a son about three weeks older than Keegan introduced me to Keegan's new favorite food:

Keegan is chewing on anything and everything, and is always trying to feed himself while we eat baby food- but that's awfully messy and he doesn't understand the whole spoon to mouth thing yet. But he LOVES these! He munches and chews on them like crazy and will finish a whole cracker thing in 5 minutes- all by himself (okay, he needs a little help sometimes. Yesterday he kept trying to put it to his mouth but ended up hitting himself in the forehead over and over. HA!).

There's my boy, enjoyinnnng! 

Today we've had a great day so far. We went to Refresh at Riverview (it's kind of like a MOPS program) and it was great. I love getting to know new people at our church, and love feeling more involved, and developing a community around us. We have been so blessed by Riverview and the people that we've met there.

Today at Refresh the speaker encouraged us to dig into The Word more. She emphasized that even though as moms with young children we would love to get those extra 15 minutes of sleep- or whatnot, to make it a priority to spend time meditating on scripture. She said that if you find something to meditate on in the Bible, it will help us to get through the hard times throughout the day. I'm going to try hard to make and keep that a priority.

God has been SO good to our family, and has given us so many blessings. He's given me a wonderful home, with an incredible husband and son, and a supportive family, and now an incredible family-oriented, Christian run work place. But among all that, come symptoms like exhaustion and illness- that make it easy to put seemingly "little" things like spending time in The Word seem like a hassle.

We have been so blessed as a family, and it really got me thinking about the blessings that I bring to other people's lives. I pray that I bless other people the way that so many of my friends, family members, co workers and even people I don't even know at Riverview have blessed my life.

God is good- and our purpose in life is to bring Him glory. My way of doing that is to be optimistic, joyful always, and to celebrate and acknowledge the gifts he's given us. I'm not perfect, but will continue to celebrate the blessings in our lives to point to the Giver of all good things!