15 Month Stats

Murdoch had his 15-month check-up yesterday and he is doing just fine. I decided to spread out some of the vaccinations because it would have been something like 5 in one day which means extra trips to the doctor's office but I feel like that should be a big deal. Here are his latest stats:

Height -32.5 Inches - 88%
Weight - 26 lbs. 12 ounces - 80%
Head - 48.5 cm - 85%

The doctor called him very symmetrical - I couldn't agree more!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Sorry that we don't get to see everyone on Thanksgiving. I will try to post some updated pictures over the weekend. Life has been very busy, as usual, so I just haven't had the time to post the picture/video updates - I have chosen sleep this past week.

Therapy via Dogs and Kids

My company had layoffs yesterday. I was not laid off but one of the guys on my team was and that caused an emotional day for me. I didn't know about it in advance, I only knew about it once it was done. I feel horrible for that person and I feel horrible for the rest of my team - this is going to put a burden on everyone now that we are down one more person. By the end of the day I couldn't focus, I needed to eat, and I needed a drink. I got home and there was this gorgeous bulldog waiting for me in her crate tail wagging and ran all over the house and almost knocked me over when she got out. Then about 10 minutes later a little guy arrived at the house and when he saw me he broke out the big grin and walked right over to me to give me his version of a hug. It was a rough day at work and often times the two of them make a day very long and tiring but I have to say the tension that melted away when I saw the two of them was more than worth all of the lack of sleep, extra vet bills, etc. that they cause. They are a form of therapy, sanity, and love that I can't get anywhere else.

My Mom's Visit

My Dad upload the pictures from my Mom's visit a few weeks ago. She doesn't like to have her pictures taken but going forward we are going to have to get some of my Mom and Murdoch - even if she hasn't showered! Enjoy the pictures and enjoy hump day!

For my funeral

No I am not dying, at least any more so than the average person on the street, and I am not trying to be morbid. I found this in the back of my date book that will expire at the end of the year and I wanted to make sure I didn't forget about it. I went to the Body Works exhibit two years ago and wrote this down as something I would like to have at my funeral:

Seneca's (4 B.C.-65 A.D.) quote: "Death is the release from all pain and complete cessation, beyond which our suffering will not extend. It will return us to that condition of tranquility, which we had enjoyed before we were born. Should anyone mourn the deceased, then he must also mourn the unborn. Death is neither good nor evil, for good or evil can only be something that actually exists. However, whatever is of itself nothing and which transforms everything else into nothing will not all be able to put us at the mercy of Fate."

I have no idea why I like that quote but for some reason it is comforting to me.

A Murdoch Memory

So this memory is a little gross but it made me laugh when my sister wrote me the following email yesterday:

I have been meaning to tell you.
Remember how when I came to visit last christmas murdoch's poop smelled like buttered pop corn. Well, my feet and the stink in them and in my shoes has changed from the normal foot funk to the smell of buttered pop corn.
I think of murdoch's pop everytime i take my shoes off.
emily

Before solid foods Murdoch's poop did indeed smell like buttered popcorn. I had totally forgotten about that until that email.

She then followed up that email with the following:

and you should put in the blog that when i was there, before you told me from where the smell was coming, i kept wondering why the people down stairs were eating so much buttered popcorn.

Aunt Emily is coming for a visit a little before Christmas and we can't wait to see her! She is taking one of her two vacations - she only gets two breaks while going to school - to come and spend it with her nephew and she takes care of him all day. It is so nice for everyone! Though I am sure a little exhausting for someone who has just finished a set of finals. I am really looking forward to that visit!

Some of my favorite websites

I like to surf the web - I just don't have enough time to do it! I thought I would share a few of my favorite sites and if you have a favorite site please share it!

Diapers.com - Diapers are expensive and bulky. The last thing I want to do is try to bring up those huge packages while carrying an infant/toddler on my hip. So thank god for diapers.com! It is a great website. If you spend over $49 the shipping is free and it arrives on your doorstep two days later! I compared some of the prices and the Huggies diapers are the same price at CostCo as they are at diapers.com. They carry a lot more than diapers - formula, bottles, clothing, toys, etc. I basically do all of my shopping on there for Murdoch. You can get $10 off your first order if you use code SAPA5662.

Bookins.com - This is an online book swap site. You list your books by ISBN and then other people make a request for those books. A label is automatically produced - you can just print it out, tape it to the envelope, and drop it in the mailbox - you don't even have to go to the post office! The other person pays the postage which is around $4 for all books and you get points for sending your books. You can then use your points to get books from other people and you just pay for the postage. I think the fact that you can just print out the label makes this so convenient so I love it!

Bookmooch.com - Same concept as bookins.com but you don't have the pre-paid envelopes. So you have to go to the post office which is another step but if you send it media mail it is usually about 2-2.50 per book so it is cheaper to send the book.

Radcru.com - For wine! Do I need to say anymore?!

Greendimes.com - Helps you stop junk mail - including catalogues which is very important this time of year, and they plants tree when you join. I can't tell you how much less junk mail I get since I joined - especially all of those catalogues! It is overwhelming. You can pick and choose which ones you want so if you still want your PotteryBarn catalogue you can keep it!

I am sure there are others but those are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Mr. Giggles at 14 Months!

Enjoy!

Election Day!

So I have voted and I feel good about it! No politics talk for me though. I got to the polling place a little after 7 in the AM and there were about 50 people ahead of me - I thought that it was going to be bad! But it wasn't - only about a 20 minute wait and then off to the races. I am also going to post a Murdoch video shortly! Go out and vote!

It is never too early for Christmas

A solar powered helicopter! I saw this in Cookie magazine and I thought it was a great gift - Murdoch is getting one for Christmas. You can a 25% off coupon and it is environmentally friendly - made from wood and it is solar-powered! I thought I would pass it along.

Website for toy - http://www.estella-nyc.com/6estella.html

For the coupon - cookiemag.com/go/cookiedough

It is so hard to find Christmas gifts - at least I think it is - so hopefully this helps someone else out. Please let me know if you have any great gift ideas.

The Weekend

So obviously I have no new pictures or videos to post - I have them but I need them to magically appear on my laptop - without wires! Maybe the technology is already out there but I don't have it yet - I need these things to go right onto my laptop after I take them and then the blog would be much more up to date. Maybe before bed tonight I will try to get a little more organized in the blog area.

The weekend was good but busy. We had our Halloween party on Saturday - we moved the start time up in order to incorporate children this year which was good though at 8 I felt like it should have been midnight. So between getting ready for the party, the party, clean up after the party, daylight savings (who decide that this was a good idea - it is depressing that it is so late and the extra hour of sleep is a joke - Murdoch has no idea that the time has changed so we were just up earlier, or the same time depending on how you look at it)

I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween! We did thought we celebrated a day late. Videos and pictures soon!