Bath Time

I am loving these photos! Talli just uploaded them so I wanted to make sure that everyone saw them. Bob & Talli came for a visit a few weeks ago to meet Liam and hang out with us a little. They helped me out with Murdoch on numerous occasions and one night they helped with Murdoch's bath. Right now Murdoch enjoys taking a bath with someone which is a bit of overhead but he really enjoys it and we have found that he is really enjoying the water. Plus now you can just go in for a little while and then he 'swims' around by himself while you just watch. Anyway - Bob took a bath with Murdoch while I cooked dinner which was such a luxury! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

When the walls come tumbling down...

....literally! Today our dining room, kitchen, front hallway, back hallway, and one of the bedrooms in our renters apartment are being gutted. Though thrilling, because I can't wait for a new kitchen that actually has drawers and counter tops, the process is not a pleasant one and I know it because we have done this before. There is dust everywhere - if you have never taken down a wall made of horse hair plaster it is quite a mess task! So it is going to suck to be without a kitchen for awhile and trying to keep a toddler and a dog occupied in only part of the house, especially when the weather isn't great isn't the easiest task but I am going to try and remain positive. But I have a feeling I am going to reach some lows during this process so there will probably be some entries of whining and self-pity so please bare with me. I took before pictures which I will post and I will be taking pictures along the way and then finally there will be after pictures - the best ones of all!

Enjoy your weekend - we are going to be staying in various venues so I don't think it will be the greatest weekend of my life but in no way shape or form will it be my worst.

How you know you are living with a toddler.....

1) When you go to bed you have brush graham cracker crumbs out of your own bed. Yes I said this would never happen and it is yet another thing that I just said who cares to when I was tired. I got home with Murdoch, Andy was installing trim in the bedroom and he really wanted to watch so I got a box of graham crackers and a cup of milk and Murdoch sat in my lap eating away and making little noises as Andy worked with a big smile on his face. It was worth it! I got to just recline in bed for 30 minutes and he barely moved! Nothing a little sheet change won't take care of!

2) Your dog now has to be on a diet because of the carb comma she is in due to a sudden large intake of crackers, cheerios, cheese, and juice! Deucey needs those curves back!

3) Instead of actually asking your husband for the remote control you make a weird noise that is similar to what your son makes when he is pointing at some thing that he wants.

4) Your husband's response to #3 say please and you have to do that in sign language :)

5) Your child says yeah to every question you ask him. I guess this is better than no but I have found this so funny that I started saying it all of the time - including work and I can't stop!

Changes....

So today is the first day of Spring - though it didn't feel like it walking to work in a down coat and mittens. The days are slightly warmer and longer and I am hoping we have seen the last snow of the season.

Starting next Friday our kitchen and dining room will be gutted to begin the lovely process of kitchen renovation. This is our last large project in this house which is awesome but I know the amount of dust that is created, the extra stress on top of normal life that it creates, and just the general annoyance of living without a kitchen. We will still have a fridge and a microwave which is pretty good but losing the stove is going to kill me! Most of the kid meals are fixed on the stove so that is going to be hard. I think there is going to be a lot of yelling and short fuses in the next month or more.

I will post before, during, and after pictures. We definitely need a new kitchen because ours is pretty much a room with appliances in it but because I know what is coming I am totally dreading it. I think I will go to bed desperately holding onto the picture of the new kitchen in order to get through this ordeal. I know others have a much harder cross to bare in life so this isn't the biggest thing ever but I unfortunately am going down the black hole of pity where I will be feeling very sorry for myself once this project starts. Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of counter tops, cabinets, and drawers - some very novel ideas to have in your kitchen! :)

Shaving over walking?

I just saw this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/16/hm.shave.childhood.cancer/index.html
I did the breast cancer 3-day walk a few years ago and it was fun and I had a good time - granted the weather was nice and I decided to stay in a hotel instead of camp out with everyone which made it much nicer at least for me. The walk lasted 3-days and there were many weekends before that of practice walks to make sure that I could actually do the 20 miles though I never practiced 20 miles a day, 3 days in a row. But after the summer of training and then the three days it was over. The actually shaving would be easier - there isn't any training you just go in and get it done - but that bald head is going to last more than 3 days! But I think with all of those kids sitting around cheering you on and knowing how it would help them the joy and gratification would last longer than your bald head.

Which one would you choose?

A nice weekend

The snow is just about melted, the days are longer, and it was near 60 and sunny this weekend! It was great. We all got out and did a little bit of outdoor activity which was awesome! Sunday Murdoch and I headed to the park around the corner. This was the first time to a park for Murdoch, and my first time taking my child to the park. At first he wouldn't leave the stroller and just stared at everyone else there. Then after a granola bar he got out and walked around a little bit. We tried the swings - those were okay. Then we went over to the little jungle gym and tried out the 3 foot slide. After about 10 tries on that a little time later we graduated to the 9 or so foot spiral slide that we did about 30 times and then we followed that up with a decent amount of time on the swings. Hopefully this excitement will continue because this is a convenient place to burn off some extra energy and get out of the house. Here are the rest of the pictures.

We have a problem

You never want to pick up the phone from your spouse/significant other or whatever you want to call that person in your life that knows things about you that no one else does or would want to know but still sticks with you. Andy called yesterday morning and said these words. I immediately think of something totally awful though he sounded calm so I figured it couldn't be too bad. Poor Murdoch woke up with hives all over him. We don't know why, we don't know the source. I called the doctor - they weren't particularly concerned. They went away so Murdoch went to daycare and then they were back later in the day. We are crossing our fingers that this isn't a normal occurrence - that can't be comfortable! Andy emailed me this picture so I had to share.

Bob & Talli are coming this weekend to see Liam but I am sure Murdoch will get a little attention and TLC from them as well. I am sure he will eat that up! Hopefully that produces some good pictures and stories - unlike my story from last weekend! :) Enjoy your weekend.

Then and now

There are days when I think why can't I just go back to the way things were 5 years ago, 10 years, ago, etc. Yesterday was one of those days. I was looking through some old emails and I found from pictures from 2005. I was married, but I was in a different house, I didn't have a kid nor was I really thinking about it. I had this job but I had just started and I had just returned from a month-long vacation to Phoenix for wedding and then we traveling along to Fiji and Australia. I can't help but look at myself in those pictures and think god - I was having fun, I was happy!

I am happy now but it is different and after looking at those pictures I had a day where I just wanted that life back. I personally find the lack of vacation after having a kid very hard and right now when it is cold and dark out and there is snow on the ground a vacation for about 2 weeks somewhere warm with boat drinks I think would be my cure. But that isn't happening. So even though I am happy where I am right now - it is really hard not to look back on these pictures and that part of my life and think god I really wish I could have that back right now!

I could go on and on if I stayed on this subject - I am sure you all know what I mean. So here are the pictures:

Halloween 2005

Frye Island 2005 with Scott & Gary

Sarah's 30th Brithday

Catching up on some photos

So we finally got the pictures on the computer and I organized some of them into sets on flickr. Here is what we have so far:


Early pictures of Deucey - that would be B.M.(Before Murdoch) Deucey really gets the short end of the stick these days so I thought I would post these pictures to remind us of when Deucey was the only baby and she got all of the special attention - even when she ripped up and entire bag of potty soil in the kitchen!


Here are a few random pictures of Murdoch from February that I thought were cute. There are a few of him 'playing' the drums from the Guitar Hero game and he had a little fun with his new stroller.


Ellen came up for a visit in January. I realized at the end that I hadn't taken any pictures! So here are a few.


And finally Christmas. Yes Christmas! I realize that we should be getting our green out for St. Patrick's Day by now but we have just gotten around to downloading pictures from Christmas.


Enjoy all of these! Hopefully it won't be as long until the next download.

How was your weekend?

***WARNING - this post is kind of gross so Dad you may not want to read it***

This past weekend held great promise to be a good weekend for the Suthersons. I have no idea what we did on Friday night which means we probably didn't do much because we were tired which is fine. Saturday we had a trip to the dog park with Murdoch's daycare teacher planned followed by errands or house work and then a 2-year-old birthday party. Murdoch decided to sleep in on Saturday which was fine because he was up late the night before. So I got up to make breakfast to make sure there were no tears while waiting for the oatmeal to cool. I made the oatmeal, had my breakfast, watched some tv and it was now after 9. In order to make it to the dog park by 11 people needed to get out of bed pretty soon. So I checked on Andy and he said Murdoch hadn't been making any noise. We decided we should get him up because it was pretty late and I was starting to think something was very wrong. Well I opened the door and the smell that met me said yes something is wrong. Poor Murdoch had thrown up at some point during the night and was sleeping in it. This is the second time this has happened and neither time he cried, he just throws up and goes back to sleep. This makes me feel horrible! Poor guy sleeping in throw-up. So we got him up, he went into the bathtub, and cleaned up the room and we made it to the dog park but it was more like 12. The rest of the day was fine but Murdoch seemed a little out of it and he really didn't want to eat much and I didn't press the issue.

Sunday - we have breakfast/brunch plans with friends which makes it the best day because I love breakfast and Andy was coming which was very nice because he really doesn't like breakfast. We got up and headed out and my car sounded odd on the way over. It was snowing so we thought it just needed to warm up. We got there parked and as Andy was getting Murdoch out of the car I noticed my tired was low - well that accounts for the sound. We decided to eat and then drive two blocks to use the air at the gas station. We get out of breakfast and the tire is totally flat - so much for running the errands right after breakfast! We got to the gas station and the air was out of order. So Andy changed the tire - in horizontal freezing snow! We headed home, changed cars, and headed to the Expo. The store is closing and we needed things for our new kitchen so we thought we would check it out. While in the Expo Murdoch decided to poop. Which is fine but then there was an odor that followed us around. We decided that we would go across the street and change him at Nordstrom - the bathrooms are much nicer and easier for that type of thing. So we pile into the car drive over there, circle for a parking space, Andy loses it, and parks in a handicapped space and tells us to get out so that I can change the diaper and he will meet us in there. Well I pick up Murdoch and as soon as I get him into my arms I hear 'Oh my god!' I have no idea what is going on my I soon do. Murdoch has had diarrhea and it is all over the car seat, all over him, and now it is all over me. Well I guess we aren't going to Nordstrom :) So I put him back in the seat with a towel between him and the seat and I try to wipe myself down. We go home (I think Andy almost threw up on the way home because of the smell) and Murdoch and I went straight into the shower. That caused a lot of crying because he hates the shower but that was just easier. So he got shower, then he wanted the sippy cup. We played for awhile and he went to bed around 4:30. We debated waking him up but decided to let him sleep.

This morning I work up to about a foot of snow and a horrible commute - definitely a day to work for home! But Murdoch slept through the night, there were no accidents overnight, and Andy said that he is eating a ton this morning so hopefully this is past us. Hopefully next weekend is a better one!

Enjoy your week!

Mom = Enabler?

Murdoch went to the doctor yesterday for his 18 month check-up. He has become a picky eater, he is a lot more clingy, and he has been waking up at night crying - not enough for us to go in but that is not his normal routine. Each of these things on their own really wouldn't mean much to me at all but all of them at once lead me to believe that something might be wrong. So for the past week when he asks to be picked up I do, when he wants a different food, he gets it, etc. I had Andy mention this to the doctor - I wanted to make sure there wasn't something physically wrong with him like an ear infection or something like that. Well apparently we are just enablers according to the doctor and though he didn't say it I think I am the bigger enabler just due to the fact of the way Murdoch acts toward me vs. Andy.

Last night when I picked him up from daycare though he screamed, cried, and threw himself on the floor I didn't carry him out. He refused to hold my hand so I held his wrist and though he screamed the whole time he walked out of daycare to the car - granted everyone was staring at us. He screamed for about 5 blocks and then it just stopped and he was perfectly happy. Okay well I survived that one. We got home and he threw himself on the ground again. I offered him food - all things no. I got out little crackers and put some spreadable cheese on them - no again. I ate them. After about 10 crackers and 10 minutes of screaming in the highchair he was asking for the crackers and other food that I had already offered and go the no. After we finished dinner we had a nice time playing and then a nice time in his room before bed - no more tantrums. Clearly I need thicker skin and I need to get through the tantrum because so far they only last 5-10 minutes which really isn't that long.

I am sure that this is something that a lot of parents go through - maybe not but I have to think there are others out there. My goal will be not to give into his every need because right now he seems to be craving attention and if I give into the screaming it just leads to more screaming. Hopefully with this new approach we will all be a lot happier after a long day at work/school. And I am hoping to learn this lesson now so that in 15-20 years I am not on Intervention saying that my picture should be in the dictionary next to enabler because Murdoch is an alcoholic or addicted to some other drug.

Pictures of Liam and the Family

Here are some more pictures! He is such a cute and perfect guy! Murdoch can't wait for him to grow up a little - he is excited that he can get his gang started!

Introducing Liam Kenneth

Karen and Hugh welcomed a new baby boy late Thursday.

Liam Kenneth
Born Feb 19,2009 at 9:41am
7lbs 13 oz 21 inches

Everyone is doing well though tired. The family went home from the hospital yesterday and I have my fingers crossed that they got some sleep - the first night home from the hospital with Murdoch was a tough one for us so we are hoping it went well for them. Of course we forgot our camera but Andy has one on his phone - I will see if he can email that to me and I will post it.

Congrats to Hugh & Karen!

Random Updates

So we went to Target last night to buy a new iron - I have looked for mine for a week and I can't find it. I am sure as soon as I open the new one and use it the old iron will come out of hiding with a drink in hand knowing that his life of manual labor is over because I think this new one is supposed to be better. While I was there I decided to get Murdoch a new toy. Frequently when I pick him up all of the kids are running around the classroom with baby strollers and Murdoch is very upset when he has to give his up and leave. So I decided why not get him one. The only one I could find, without much searching, was a pink one with a purple cloth seat. I know this needs a picture so I will try to get to that now that I am somewhat set up on a new computer. When I was checking out the early-20's guy said - Please don't tell me that is for him. And I said proudly Yes it is! I think that along with the purple Dora the Explorer chair is funny. Murdoch doesn't watch TV so he has no idea who Dora is and right now he has no idea that pink is usually loved by girls. I am thinking that a tutu is up next :) Ah the pictures we can torture our children with later in life!

On a totally different note I saw this article and I thought it was very interesting. Just a little something to read for a raining and cold Thursday - at least that is how things are looking in our part of the country.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/17/dying.green/index.html

New Year's Resolutions - a little late

I read this and enjoyed it, I thought you might as well. New Year's resolutions aren't my thing but this year I decided that I could actually take a calcium and iron supplement without losing too much sleep - and so far it has worked. I am trying to eat less sugar - that is my huge issue - I love sweets! So I am trying to eat them only when they are really good and find ways to cut out sugar in other things. This story is a dramatic change but I think if you just try one or two like a little less sugar and flossing your teeth you are much more likely to stick with it. How much better do you think you would look and feel if you got up in the AM and did 20 push-ups - it makes a difference after the first month. So I am trying for small life changes and when I get off track I will enjoy those 10 cookies and then the next day I will happily eat that apple.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/16/oprah.habit.month/index.html

Hello Again!

This isn't the best picture but it is all I have right now. And I am just way behind on the blog - I haven't even posted pictures from Christmas - how sad is that! Oh well. We have made very good house progress so between that and all of us being sick that has taken up most of our time. And the blocked the USB ports on my work laptop so I need to get set-up on our other PC and I just haven't put the time into that.

I hope you all are having a great 2009 and I am hoping for a few more posts in the coming months of 2009. I have so much backlog of pictures and videos that you think it would be easy!

A fun weekend!

Those pictures are from the snow we got last weekend. No snow this weekend, just a slightly warmer start the weekend and the more cold cold temperatures! We are looking forward to March - it won't be warm but it shouldn't be this cold!

We had a pretty good weekend. We took our first trip ever to IKEA. I thought it was going to be horrible - lines at the exit just to get to the store, going in circles looking for a parking space, etc. It wasn't that bad. The store is a little overwhelming but I feel like we were focused on what we wanted so it was a relatively fast trip. We got some new cabinets for our 1/2 bath/laundry room which will be really nice - people won't have to stare at our dirty laundry when they come over and use the bathroom. Andy also got a shelf to go above his desk so we can put things like pictures and such up there to get rid of a little bit of the clutter from the bookshelf. So we are still a long way from being organized but I don't expect to ever be fully organized. Saturday night we had a surprise birthday party and Sunday was Karen & Hugh's baby shower. So it was a busy weekend but while I was at the shower Andy installed half of the cabinets in the bathroom so that mess should be out of the way soon. Now we need to tackle all of the filing clutter to get ready for taxes! Maybe next year we will have some sort of filing system though I doubt it - that takes time and effort, day in and day out - we aren't very good at that. Maybe an decrease in paper clutter of 15% should be our goal.

Now we are back to work! I hope you had a good weekend and you enjoy the week. As always I am looking forward to Friday.

A trip to the hospital anyone?

Just in case you were worried I thought I would say up front Murdoch is not involved in any trip to the hospital. I thought this picture of Murdoch was cute and it would cheer my Mom up.

My Mom had knee surgery on Tuesday. She had her second knee replacement. My Dad said that the surgery went well but it is a long road of lots of pain and PT - she knows this after her experience with her first knee replacement. It is going to be a long road to recovery but in the end she is going to be in a lot less pain.

Apparently I had some sympathy pain - I ended up at the hospital on Tuesday as well - though nothing serious. I cut my finger on a can of diced tomatoes that I had just opened. I didn't have to get stitches because of where the cut was on my finger - too close to the bone - so they used glue. It is basically super glue for your body. So I have that and a splint which makes it very hard to do things because it is my right hand. Only a few days of this though so I really can't complain.

Cold, Tired, and Unmotivated

It is cold out and it is supposed to only get colder - the high on Friday is supposed to be 10! I don't even want to think about the windchill. The commute to work in that isn't pleasant. And getting out of bed in the dark, getting ready in the dark, and getting to work in the dark isn't pleasant either. January and February are definitely my least favorite months of the year. Every year I don't plan a March vacation to a warm destination I kick myself. Two years ago we went to St. Lucia and last year we went to Florida. This year I am just hoping for more sunlight and that these two months fly by. March isn't the best but somehow it seems promising but it is usually a tease.

I need to motivate to get pictures and videos off my camera but right now they are all dead which requires one more step before I can put them on my laptop which just seems like such an obstacle at the end of the day. Maybe it is because I look at a computer most of the day that it makes it hard to do it when I get home.

Thank you for listening to the complaining. I am looking forward to my three-day weekend. Murdoch goes to daycare on Monday and I have the day off which is basically the best day off ever - I know that may seem mean to many of you but I can get some things done and I can pick him up early to see him a little more that day so it is a win-win. Maybe I will actually finish painting one of the bookshelves in his room and we can actually put a few things away - it has only been over a year at this point - we are obviously not behind :) But the office is also screaming to be finished so I will see who screams the loudest over the weekend and on Monday. Maybe the office will get some love this weekend - I don't think I will be traveling outside too much when the windchill has a very good chance of being below 0.

MIA

So I haven't posted in about a month. It was a rough month so I am hoping that things settle down and return to 'normal'. Work has been crazy and then we had the holidays - Murdoch got the stomach flu and gave it to everyone for Christmas. So that really killed us - Murdoch wasn't in bed all day but I sure was. So we got through the holidays and then Ellen was just here for a visit which was great. So hopefully as we get back to our routine there will be more posts. Pictures are coming - again I just need to get organized! I hope you all had a wonder Christmas and Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a great 2009.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I started this post on Wednesday morning because we got about an inch of snow. Now it is Friday and we are all at home watching about a foot of snow fall! So I think this is much more appropriate now. I love the snow - of course in about a month or so I will hate it. As the song says - 'let it snow, we've got no place to go'. That is when snow is awesome! But when you have somewhere to go like work so you are walking to the train, and daycare so you have a little person that doesn't want to put on all of that extra clothes and hates the snow in his face I think to myself - it was much easier to just slip on some flip-flops. The snow is still a novelty so I will enjoy it - maybe even with some fresh baked cookies - but I am sure I will be complaining in about a month about it. Or I could be complaining tomorrow when I need to shovel but I don't know what to do with a toddler and a dog because the other adult is in Denver which makes things a little harder. Oh well - tonight we shall dine on cookies and milk - now I just need that fireplace! Enjoy the holidays!

Getting ready for Christmas

We got our tree on Sunday and we actually got some lights on it. Andy worked on getting the lights up outside - a cold front moved through so it was freezing. Murdoch and I brought hot cocoa out to him while he was working. Deucey kept him company on the front stairs even though she was shivering the whole, she wouldn't leave his side. I don't think we are going to put too many ornaments on this year - maybe a few at the top - I think there will probably be some little hands with a lot of interest in the ornaments not to mention a furry mouth that would like to eat some of them. Here are the other pictures.

Gettin' Messy

Murdoch had some fun last weekend playing in goop - cornstarch and water. It was a fun little afternoon activity and then it was off to the bath! Bob, aka Boppa, thought he just had a really good time eating his lunch :) The guy is messy but it isn't that bad. Hopefully we can catch up on some photos and updates this month!

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!

Happy Halloween!

Murdoch had a little Halloween parade at daycare this morning so I went for a little while and got a couple of pictures - I will try to download those tonight. Last night he was 'coloring' and started to eat the green marker so that was everywhere - again - more pictures I need to download. So maybe tonight I will post those plus we have a giggles video from his 14 month birthday that is cute. So lots to post!

We are having a little Halloween party tomorrow so it will be busy until then cleaning, shopping, cooking etc. The weather looks sunny but chilly but way better than rain and raw!

Happy Halloween to everyone! I can't wait to see pictures of all of the cute costumes in the next week or so!

Random Thoughts and Updates

I tend to have random thoughts when I have had too much caffeine or if I am by myself too long - Andy is away and Murdoch and Deucey are not exactly the best chatters so I am not technically alone but if I don't have someone to talk to my mind tends to race in odd directions making weird associations. Andy usually feels overwhelmed by talking when he gets home, oh well.

Last night - I am watching the Biggest Loser. These people are working out, dieting, how much weight they have lost is flashing up on the screen. What am I doing - eating apple crisp. Okay I made it so on level it is better - no preservatives, natural ingredients - but I also tend to like the crisp part of apple crisp so I made a little extra topping. :) So I am sitting there eating sugar and butter and these people are crying on the treadmill - that doesn't seem quite right.

The other day I noticed that I lost one on the diamonds in my engagement ring - it was a very small one so I wasn't that concerned. Then I find out later, because I remarked on Andy's ring being so shiny, that he had lost his wedding band on the golf course! Both of us now have shiny rings - his because it is new, mine because it is nicely polished. It kind of makes me feel like a newlywed - I keep looking down at my ring and remembering when it looked like this when I first got it. Getting your rings shined seems like a cheap way to feel like a newlywed - I should try that more often!

Deucey got her stitches out today and the cone has been retired! I am so excited though not as much as her - she is pancing around. I think we will hit the dog park this weekend and see if the eye holds up under heavy dog wrestling conditions.

My Mom is coming on Friday to visit Murdoch - it looks like we might hit 60 again and it is supposed to be sunny - much better than the 45 and rainy so it feels like 35 with the wind! More swimming lessons and we are heading over to see Hugh & Karen - they got married last week - just the legal part - the big party is next year!

And on a final note Murdoch's daycare teacher's husband died last week. He fought a long battle with cancer. Please keep her in your thoughts - it is a very hard time for her - not one that I can even imagine. She is returning to work next week so I will have to tell Murdoch to go easy on her and give out lots of hugs and kisses.

Off to get the buddy ready for bed - though right now he is in a very good mood so maybe we will hang out for a little while. I hope you are enjoying your week!

So sad

I think the fact that I just added the last post and realized now that I had already told that story makes me realize how tired I am - sorry for the repeat. Obviously my mind is just going in circles right now! Heading home soon - here I come bed!

The first chore

Murdoch has learned his first chore! Before Andy leaves for work Deucey has to go in her crate - she tends to destroy things if she is not confirmed while we are gone - I don't know why - I guess she just likes having us around. So every morning Andy gets a treat, Deucey runs and gets in the crate waiting for the treat, the door is closed and Andy and Murdoch are off to school/work. Murdoch has mastered this chore so he is helping Andy become more efficient in the mornings. It took about three days for him to get it - the first two mornings he would show Deucey the treat but he wouldn't let go of it - as you can imagine this didn't go over very well with Deucey. But now he does it all except get the treat - he is too short - and lock the door of the crate - the coordination is not quite there but I am sure it will be soon. I think the next thing on Andy's list is figuring out how he can apply this to getting a beer out of the fridge...

Exhaustion

So my exhaustion is partially self-induced so I really shouldn't be complaining but I feel like whining. It has been a long weekend. After traveling and getting no sleep in London I was already behind before the week even started and then I scheduled something pretty much every night this week - including our date night last night which consisted of going to the Madonna concert, which was great BTW. So now I feel like pulling a Costanza and sleeping under my desk. So I am hoping for a quick day and some rest this weekend. It should be a busy one - I need to re-dedicate myself to painting trim, which is hard with Murdoch around, clean, get rid of some things from the basement, and Murdoch's swimming lessons start up on Sunday. So it will be a fun but busy weekend. I have a full DVR so I am thinking that I will try to catch up on favs like Grey's and Project Runway - I am avoiding all entertainment media so I don't know who won PR. Enjoy the weekend! I hope you all get some rest and have a glass of wine and a few moments to yourself.

Ole

Andy taught Murdoch 'Ole' over the weekend in Maine and was showing it off the other night. It is so funny that Murdoch gets so excited - almost to the point of falling down - actually he did fall down once in this video. It is funny the little things that you can now teach Murdoch. Andy has also taught him to put Deucey in her crate in the mornings. Andy gives Murdoch a treat, he takes it, walks to Deucey's crate, she goes in, he gives her the treat, and then he closes the door. I think there will be a beer involved in these stories pretty soon. Enjoy the day!

Back from London! Chill-lax

I got back from London Sunday night after a nice flight - I got to sleep almost the whole time which was luxury because sleeping and flying with a child just doesn't go together.

I arrived Thursday night and hung out with Scott & Gary until about 3 AM drinking wine and talking. I woke at 6 AM with a horrible headache and couldn't fall back asleep. Friday we took a long walk to Canary Pier and had some great sushi and enjoyed the sunny and warm weather - it was in the mid-60s. Friday night we went to Popstar - a club in downtown London. And again I went to bed around 4 AM and woke up at 8 AM. Saturday we visited Gary's Dad out in 'the country' as Scott says and then Scott and I took a walk down to the Tower Bridge, had a Bloody Mary, and a few pints at his local bars as we walked back to the apartment. Saturday night we went to a birthday party for one of their friends. I thought I was going to die of exhaustion around midnight but I rallied and made it until 2. Sunday we all went to the airport - they had an earlier flight back to the States to visit Scott's parents so I went to the airport early with them. I arrived home to an empty house - Andy and the troops were still in Maine. I basically just got home, brushed my teeth and went to bed. And now I am back to work.

It was an awesome weekend - it was so great to see them, the weather was awesome, I was proud of myself that I was able to still go out to clubs even if I was about 10 years older than most of the people there, Gary would like me to promote the work Chill-lax here in the States, and I attempted the game 'Would you?' with them though I suck! Now it is back to the daily grind but it was nice to have a little break and go back to the days when I could do that every weekend. I am looking forward to seeing Murdoch for the first time since Thursday - hopefully he isn't harboring any bad feelings.

Going across the pond

I am heading to London tomorrow to visit Scott and Gary. Andy got me the plane ticket for my birthday! I think I have only seen them twice since they moved back to London so I am pretty psyched! Plus I get to go out and sleep in multiple days in a row and read and relax on the flight! Andy is heading up to Maine with the troops to get a little assistance from his parents so hopefully it all goes well. Apparently Murdoch bumped his head really hard this morning and it was purple right away - hopefully it isn't too bad. The weather looks nice this weekend so hopefully the whole family gets to spend some time outside. Deucey has been a little stir-crazy since the surgery because she hasn't gotten much exercise. Hopefully she gets worn out this weekend and there are no eye injuries from running into branches. I hope you all have a nice weekend. I will take some pictures and post them next weekend and hopefully I can get all of Murdoch's videos onto my laptop - I think I need to re-install the software.

Happy Birthday Ellen!

I totally forgot to add a Happy Birthday to Ellen to my post last night. Ellen turned 35 yesterday and is out in Indy helping her family out. Ellen - I hope you got at least a few moments to yourself and hopefully at least one glass of wine! Happy Birthday from all of us! We miss you!

What's been going on...

We have been very busy and the blog has suffered. So here is a quick update of everything that we have been doing over the past couple of months. In September we had two weddings:

Courtney & Wayne:

Matt & Ingrid:

We said goodbye to summer and short sleeve shirts and hello to fall and the colder temps:

The market crashed so work was crazy! Andy and I went out for a date night - we had some apps and wine and then we saw The Dark Knight. Then the following weekend we saw Kooza by Cirque Du Soleil with Karen and Hugh. And then yesterday Deucey had eye surgery. Her eye lids were a little too loose which was causing her a lot of discomfort so she essentially had a lower eye lift - not sure how my dog is having plastic surgery before I do! So she is in the Elizabethian collar for 2.5 weeks. Last night was not fun - the doctor said some dogs have anxiety from anestesia - well we have one of those dogs. The only way she would lay down was if one of us was laying on the floor with her. So Andy and I took turns doing that last night. She is down on her bed right now so I am looking for a complete night of sleep. Having said that I will log-off and try to get that elusive 7-8 hours of sleep. I have already missed the 7 hour window, oh well. Have a great week! We are looking forward to a boring October.

When NO is still cute

Murdoch has learned what 'no' and 'don't' mean but right now he can't say them, at least verbally so it hasn't become an annoying habit, yet, so I thought I would do a little memory post - I haven't done on in forever! Now if you tell him no or don't, he usually shakes his head and smiles back at you. This has caused a lot of smiling and laughter from both Andy and myself. Though this is funny now it is going to be a royal pain pretty soon so we really need to stop it. He also shakes his hand and forearm back and forth when he doesn't want something - I think I need to get a video of that because it is hard to explain and it is something that makes me smile so I want to have it for the future.

We are going out for a date night tonight - we are finally going to see The Dark Knight. This will be my first movie in a theatre since the birth of Murdoch and the movie is supposed to be very good so I am really looking forward to it. Andy and I need to make a point to have time that is just for the two of us - that is often lost when you have a little person in the house. Though he is a great source of joy, laughter, and happiness we need to remember that we also have a world that doesn't include him and what he does every second of the day.

Enjoy the weekend - we are looking to survive the 3-6 inches of rain this weekend!

Catching up

So I have been a bad blogger lately. Things have been really busy lately for the Suthersons. Two weekends ago my best friend Courtney got married. It was a gorgeous wedding and she looked awesome! We had a great time, I only have a few pictures so hopefully I can get some good ones from someone else. Then this past weekend Andy's best friend Matt got married. We stayed two nights, without a kid or a dog, in a hotel, and it was great! We took Monday as a vacation day and now we are back in the groove of work and all of that other stuff. Andy's parents were nice enough to take Deucey and Murdoch up to Maine on Saturday so we have been troop-free for about 5 days! That is crazy. I definitely miss them when I think about it but it has also been nice to have the quiet of the house just to ourselves. Talli is bringing them back today so it will be the crazy house when I get home tonight which is fine because it is a good crazy but it was nice to have a little time for just the two of us. Hopefully I will have some pictures soon. I hope you are all well, I missed you too!

Did she just say C or D?

Courtney is getting married on Saturday and I am in the wedding. I picked up my dress yesterday and I needed a new strapless bra because of the dip in the back. I headed up to Nordstroms because I love the place and all of the articles I read say they do a great job fitting you with a new bra. Now keep in mind for over a year I have been wearing either a nursing tank top or a nursing bra so I haven't worn a 'real bra' in over a year.

I got to the intimates department and explained to the woman that I have a dress where the normal strapless bra just won't work because the back is somewhat open. So we went through the options and then I said I don't know what size I am because I have been nursing but I am thinking B because I was an A before. So those of you that know me know that I was probably barely an A - I probably should have just been shopping in the juniors department for a started bra. Anyway. She goes in the dressing room with me and helps me try on bras - little weird but I have gotten over the whole naked thing for the most part. B doesn't fit, C is a bit tight - so she says you may be a D. I made a weird face at this point. So she explained to me that it isn't the cup size it is where the under wire hits your boob. So this is what they mean in those articles about most women don't know their correct bra size!? I am now officially one of them!

So I walked out of there with a nice new size C bra for the wedding thinking - I guess I will be back here in a couple of months when nursing is over to get all new bras! I feel cheated that I am going to have to throw away hundreds of dollars of my existing bras and buy hundreds of dollars of new bras! Somehow I feel like this is a scam. Oh well. I always wanted to be something other than an A, now that I am there I find myself thinking - why can't I just go back to that!

Welcome Whitney!

We have more baby news! Mike and Laura had a gorgeous baby girl on August 25th! I think she is one of the cutest newborns I have ever seen. And you would never guess from these photos that Laura just had a baby - she looks phenomenal! Congratulations Laura, Mike, Anne, and the rest of the family on a beautiful new baby girl!

A new buddy for Murdoch!

No I am not pregnant, but Karen is! We just found out on Sunday night that Murdoch is going to have a cousin around the beginning of March 2009. Hugh and Karen are expecting a new baby and we are so excited! We couldn't be happier for them. More info when we have it!

My first haircut!

These pictures are older than the other ones, this is closer to the beginning of August but I wanted to post them because it is a big moment. Murdoch was born with hair, lost a lot of it, grew it back, and how he has developed curls. Today the humidity has been on the rise and he has a ton of little curls. It is so cute! There is the before and after.

Other than that we are just enjoying the long weekend. Lots of house work - we are trying to get our family room back in order - Andy has people coming over on Monday for their fantasy football draft so we need somewhere for people to sit. Tonight he is at a soccer game so I thought I would do a quick post and then go to bed early - a headache that won't go away! But I am laying in bed listening to the dryer - odd I know but I just used the new washer and dryer on the second floor for the first time - what a luxury - I don't have to go into the basement to do laundry anymore! Oh the stupid stuff that makes me happy these days :)

Happy Birthday Murdoch!

Okay so this is a day late because going over the whole birthing saga - you will just have to humor me. So it is one year and one day! And I can't believe how much you have grown, changed, and how much you have changed and added to our lives! We got a great video of you yesterday AM - I love how happy you are when you wake up. I love walking into your room with you standing in your crib with the biggest smile so happy to see me - I just know it is going to kill me that as you get older I won't get that huge smile in the mornings. I love the fact that right now we are your whole world - or at least most of it. It is so easy right now - in general we control everything but it is going to get so much harder as you get older when you have all of the outside influences that mold and shape you into the person that you will eventually be. It is hard for me to even think about that piece of your life and it actually makes me sad because my baby will no longer be my baby. One of our major goals for you is to raise you to be an independent person but that is also one of the most painful things that will happen because I know I will want to take care of you and shelter you from things forever when I know I can't. It is going to be a very big struggle between my heart and my head.

I can go on forever like this so I will end it now. I just want to let you know that I love you to the point that I want to squeeze you so hard it would kill you. I will always love you no matter what.

Here is a little message from your grandmother in STL:

Dear Murdoch, Just think, one year ago we all received the most precious gift which was you! To quote Fred Rogers - You don't ever have to do anything sensational to love or be loved. You can never imagine how many people already love you, including me. Happy First Birthday, I am with you in thought. Love - Gram Parsons

All of my love!

One Year Ago Today...Continued

So where was I....Oh yes 9cm dilated now for about 3+ hours and no baby.

12 - 2 AMish - The doctor's and nurses were doing everything they could to get me through that last cm. They broke my water - or maybe they did that before midnight - not really sure because the actual hours are a blur. Well let me tell you - if I thought the pain was bad before now it was really bad. I remember thinking after one contraction had finished and another one started 'Are you sh**ing me - that was the whole break I got between contractions?!' At this point I was really relying on Ligea and Andy - I was starting to get to that point of I just can't do this anymore. I had been at 9 cm for quite awhile and things did not seem to be moving along. The doctors checked the intensity of my contractions - basically they way they put it was - well you think they are really strong contractions but they may not actually be that strong. So I was thinking oh God! These are probably really weak contractions and here I am screaming in pain - I am going to feel like a total idiot when I am having 3 out of 10 pain contractions! Well it turns out they were really strong contractions. So we continue trying to get the swelling down and get through that last 1 cm. I think somewhere around 2 am there was talk of a c-section because I was simply not moving along. I knew that this was always an option but after all of the work that had already been done I didn't want to go into surgery - not to mention I just didn't want surgery. So after some discussion we decided that I would wait 5-6 more contractions, they would check me, and then I would get an epidural. The doctor said she didn't know if it would work but there was no way I was going to be able to relax to let the swelling go down at this point because of the pain. So around 2 AM a lovely woman came in to administer the epidural. I have had a spinal tap before and it was not painful. I have heard that an epidural can be painful. I think I might remember that there was some pressure but what I do remember was the pain relief! They said it would take 5 or so contractions - well let me tell you that the relief was instantaneous! I keep thinking how am I going to sit still bent over during a contraction for them to put this needle in. Well this woman was a pro because it seemed so fast and let me tell you it was so great! So here I am in the middle of labor sitting on a bed having a normal conversation with the nurses who about 30 minutes ago I was probably screaming at :)

2 - 6 AMish - They tell me I need to sleep and rest. Well I can't! I don't know if it was the adrenaline or the endorphins or both but I couldn't sleep. Poor Ligea and Andy had neither of these and they were exhausted. Ligea took a walk and fell asleep on a bench and Andy agreed to play cards with me. We played for a little while until I was a little more relaxed and then he took a nap and I just kind of laid there. I have no idea what I was thinking about - probably go to sleep you idiot, this is your last opportunity to sleep for awhile! Either way I had some conversations with the nurses and I waited.

6 AMish - The contractions come back. I am thinking good god! I can't go back into that kind of pain now that I have been pain free! Luckily the same woman from around 2 AM comes back in pushes in some more drugs and I am once again pain-free. Now the doctor comes in to see how I am doing so this is the 'big check' to see if I have made it to 10 cm or if I am the same and I will need a c-section. And keep in mind last time I saw her she said this was kind of my last option and it was definitely not guaranteed that the epidural would do anything for me so I was nervous. Well the swelling went down and I was at 10 cm. Yeah! They said that they needed to get the contractions closer together so I would get some pitosin and I should be ready by about 8 AM for some pushing!

6-8 AM ish - More waiting. More doctors and nurses are coming in. Andy and Ligea are up. We talk about the plan - how to push, etc.

8 AMish - I think I start to push at this point. I liked the bar from last night but I do this basically laying down in bed. They have shut off the drugs to the epidural so that I can feel some of the contractions in order to know when to push. The drugs are still in affect so this was hard for me but I think I could tell most of the time. I pushed for about an hour. I knew that they would take Murdoch away because there was some black 'baby poo' as we will call it before he was born so he needed to be cleaned up. The plan was that Andy wouldn't look below the shoulders. Well he looked for about 75% of the time and then couldn't look at the end. At this point the pain is coming back but it isn't the same pain as before - it was more burning instead of straight up searing pain.

9:18 AM - After a little over an hour of pushing we welcomed a new baby boy into the world - Murdoch Parsons Sutherland. His name was going to be Jackson Parsons Sutherland until sometime in the early morning hours when we were playing cards and one of the nurses asked us the names. We said we hadn't totally decided on the name for the boy and she said she wanted to hear them, if it was okay, and hopefully one of them wasn't Jack - we were going to use that as the nickname. We that was one of our names so we told her that. She said that she had delivered 5 Jacks in the last week - I guess it was a very popular name. So right then and there we changed it. Anyway, Murdoch came out, everyone said oh my that is a big baby! I have to say that I am glad I didn't know that before I had him! That would have made me even more nervous! He was taken away to be cleaned up, Andy was with him and Ligea stayed with me while I was 'cleaned up'. I had more than normal bleeding but the midwife said - well you just had a 9 pound 1 ounce baby - what do you expect. You look great! I was cleaned up as much as can be done while you are laying in bed and then they brought Murdoch over to me. I have no idea what my first thought was. I think I was totally out of it - the long night with no sleep was catching up to me. But he fed and we got ready for our journey down to the recovery floor. Then another doctor came in to remove the epidural. He came in and said something like 'Hey next time you should get it right way, all of that work and pain and then you end up with it anyway' he said this as kind of a joke - not a big fan of that guy at the time!

Rest of the day on August 28th, 2007 - phone calls to friends and family to let them know the news. Sitting around half asleep/half in shock. Watched some TV.

Murdoch now you are 1 year old! We have survived the first year and I couldn't have asked for more from a baby. You are easy - always have been - I love your smile and your laugh - whenever I am tired or totally worn out that gives me a little extra energy to get through the day. I can't wait for the years ahead but I am already missing my baby because I can see the toddler that you are already becoming who needs me less and less which is hard and it is only going to become harder. I love you more than I could ever put into words so I won't try. Just know that whatever you do in your life I will always love you with all of my heart and I will always be there to support you. Love and kisses always, Mom.

One year ago today...

So I went to a personal training session at lunch today - my first real one ever and I thought to myself while I was doing this horrible core workout that I went into labor around this time one year ago and if I got through that I could get through this 30 minutes of core work and balance. And then my mind turned around and said - you know what, I would rather be in labor :)

The night before I went into labor, which was a Sunday last year, I went to see a movie in a movie theatre - the last time I have done that since having Murdoch. I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum with Andy, Matt Levine, Bridget, and Marcus. They serve beer there and I bought a beer that night - Matt was getting two beers and they will only server one person one beer so the pregnant lady bought the beer - Matt still finds that funny. So we went to the movies that night and I loved the movie - maybe it was all of the noise in that movie that made Murdoch decide that he wanted to come out.

Monday, August 27th.

9 AM - Non-stress test. Woke up got online to do a little bit of work and I was hating that I had to go in for this test! I got there, was on the bed, the first reading wasn't good so I had to do another one. So annoyed the whole time that I had to do this test because I was now officially over-due. The baby/it moved enough so I was free to go. The whole time I was thinking to myself - please go into labor because you are already at the hospital - that would make it so easy!

10:36 AM - Back at home and I start to work again - I sent out emails to people though not doing too much because I have transitioned pretty much all of my work to other people - I am now a week over-due.

12:28 PM - Call Andy (yes I pulled up my cell phone records for this) I am guessing that I am calling to say that I might be in labor - just as a heads up in case he has meetings. Bear in mind - at this point everything I have read saying that you can do laundry, watch a movie, etc. so I think I have all of the time in the world.

12:30 PM - Call Ligea, my doula, to also let her know this - her day may be interrupted so I wanted to give her as much notice as possible.

12:37 PM - I send the following email to my boss:
Rich,
I am going to sign off for a little while - I think I might be having some contractions so I really can't concentrate on work. I will give you an update later today either way.
Thank you,
Sarah

1:53 PM - Call Andy again - I think this is the phone call that says I am definitely in labor you need to come home.

2:00 PM - Call Ligea again - I am definitely in labor

1:55 PM - Call Andy again - not sure what I didn't say 2 minutes before - maybe he can fill in the blanks

3:00 PM, 3:03 PM, 3:22 PM - All calls to Andy - I think these were my calls basically saying where the hell are you?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3:39 PM & 3:40 PM - Call Ligea - I think this was to say that we had decided to go to the hospital because this didn't seem to be a passing thing

Sometime after that leave for the hospital, as we get to the hospital Andy misses the turn and I want to kill him! Arrive at the hospital - park in the top level of the parking garage - needless to say this is going to take me awhile to get down and over to the hospital. Get out of the car - throw up all over the car - hey at least it was the outside of the car instead of the inside and we were on the top level so if it rained it would be cleaned off right. Walk to the elevator, take it down, bad contraction in front of the hospital, some guy asks if everything is okay and if anything is wrong - I am pretty sure it is easy to figure out that I am in labor by the size of my stomach! Somehow get to the labor and delivery area.

4:17 PM - Call Ligea - tell her we are there

4:56 PM - Call my boss - I won't be into work tomorrow or logging on later tonight

Stay in there for what seems like forever, maybe 45 minutes - get the general workup and checked out to make sure I am far enough along in order to be admitted. I am 3cm - I thought well that is something. They said that I would be admitted and I would get a room with a jacuzzi - I thought great!

The rest of the afternoon/evening/night is a blur. I know I was in a room with Andy, Ligea, and two nurses - one was Steph and for the life of me I can't remember the name of the other one. They were extremely supportive, understanding, helpful, etc. Lots of things went on in that room that I will never repeat and only Andy will know or a close friend after I have had a few drinks. I do know that Andy help me up over and over again during the contractions, he didn't flinch (at least as far as I knew at the time) when I bit his shoulder when I thought that I was only biting his shirt. Ligea was right there helping both of us - supporting me and also giving Andy the support he needed to deal with me in this state that he had never seen me in before. I know that he felt helpless so having Ligea there was the best decision I made while I was pregnant. We tried different positions, got in the jacuzzi, didn't work, and finally it was time to push.

9:30 PMish - I was in my bed with my little pushing bar and I was exhausted but ready to push. I was making great time! They said this was supposed to take an average of 12 hours - I was thinking - hey look at me I am above average! So I was pushing, and pushing, and I guess it wasn't going very well so I was 'checked' again by the on-call doctor and she determined that I was actually only 9cm instead of 10cm so I needed to go back to working to get to 10cm. So I have to say this was devastating!

So for the next couple hours we did everything we could in order to accomplish that last cm. And then it was August 28th...

Photos from vacation

So I downloaded the photos from vacation - I think that was record time for me. Right now I am usually around a month delay. Of course I have a whole month of photos and videos to post and I try to post in order but that makes me even more behind.

It was a great vacation. My parents flew in on Friday, we had a nice dinner and then headed up to Maine on Saturday. As usual we had way too many things going on Saturday morning so instead of leaving at noon we left at 2 but I think we missed a lot of the traffic because of that. It was a pretty easy drive up, though we hit some major downpours and hail when we were in Maine - people were pulled over to the side of the highway at every overpass and we were going about 30 MPH on 95! We got to the address - which was incorrect and in the back-roads of Maine which was a little weird. I didn't have the directions from the people and the GPS wasn't finding it - so things did not go well at this point. Andy was pissed I didn't have the directions and I said that the directions were in my email which he thought was on my laptop but they weren't - I needed to connect to the internet. So after a quick lookup on the iPhone we found the people's number and called them for directions and we got to the house - and may I say I was relieved to get there - the other street (with the same name) was a little scary and if the house had been on that street I think I would have demanded my money back.

The whole week was nice. Talli & Bob came on Sunday for a visit. We basically relaxed, watched the Olympics, napped, took walks, etc. On Monday night we celebrated Murdoch's birthday - we had ice cream cake, he had a banana. I am carrying some guilt that I didn't do all of this stuff for my child's first birthday but I need to let that go. We had fun and Murdoch loves bananas so really there wasn't a big loss. Even if I made that huge cake I didn't want him to have any so it would have been a lot of work for us and everyone loved the ice cream cake from the store. I am sure there will be many birthdays in the future where a big cake is consumed happily by little people.

Bob & Talli left on Tuesday and we continued to relax the rest of the week. Thursday we had a play date for Murdoch - one of the guys that I work with lives about 20 minutes from where we were staying and they had a little boy last year about 2 weeks before Murdoch was born so it was a perfect match. The boys played and then we all went out for lunch which was great. One side note - when we returned home to find Deucey vomiting and we were very concerned. After about 12 hours of vomiting we found the cause - about 5 pieces of hard plastic about 2-3 inches in diameter and two squeakers were consumed, sat in her stomach, and then eventually made it back out. I thought we were going to the emergency room the next day. Luckily she got all of it out of her system. We were going outside with a flashlight to collect the 'gifts' (gross I know) to try and figure out what she had eaten. We still don't know - our best guess is a plastic ball that she found at some point on Thursday. Either way I was much relieved when she stopped vomiting and was able to sleep - we were all pretty nervous!

Friday we took a trip into the downtown area to walk around and Andy stayed back at the house with Deucey for some beer, sun, and fishing. He had a little relax time and then we left on Saturday. It was an easy drive back, gorgeous weather! Sunday my parents left and then Monday we were back to the grind.

Here is a link to the pictures. These are just from our camera for now but I am sure there will be some from both of the grandparents soon as soon and they have a chance to upload them. Enjoy the final week of summer!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Today my little sister turns 30 - which makes me feel very old when I say that. But at the same time I don't find my own age to be old. I guess it is just one of those milestones that makes you realize how much time has passed.

Emily had to go back to school on her birthday which sucked but she had an awesome summer in Colorado Springs doing her clinical for PT and she was a star! I hope you got to relax a least a little bit before things get busy again. Murdoch will give you a big kiss at Christmas! We miss you!

Back from Vacation!

We arrived home on Saturday around 1 PM and I immediately wanted to leave the house. We had some of our floors redone while we were gone, which was fabulous, but coming home to dust, all of your furniture in one room and things just a total mess after a week of relaxation, gorgeous weather, and fun with the family was just too much! The week was great - had the best week of weather that we have had all summer - it has been a very rainy summer for us. Got in some naps, Murdoch actually slept past 6 AM, and everyone had fun interacting with Murdoch and he loved the attention. The pictures are still on the camera and we had about 3 cameras going throughout the week so there will be a lot of them! Hopefully I can get the first round onto my laptop tonight or tomorrow so you get a taste of the vacation. Hate to be back at work but I missed everyone so in that sense it is good to be back.