4 Scores and 5 years ago...

...I was in Turks & Caicos. I got up early with Andy to go diving - I think early was probably around 6:15 - still early but now 6:15 is not the same type of early that is once was. We went diving, probably came back to our condo, had something to eat, sat by the pool, and then around sunset on a hammock on the beach we got engaged. If Andy logs onto the blog he can insert the story because he loves to tell it - it basically involved me saying thank you, never yes I WILL MARRY YOU and tears, and then asking to go back inside because I was cold. So it wasn't quite the reaction he was expecting but I don't really like surprises and I don't react well to them so it wasn't my best moment.

But here we are 5 years later. Seems like a long time again and yet not a long time ago all at the same time. Since then we have finished a house, sold it, bought another one, gone through a horrible renovation project in our current house, got married, had a kid, I got a new job, and we entered another decade. After listing that out our next 5 years may be about the same though I won't enter another decade though Andy will :)

We were told during our renovation project on our first house that if we could live through that then we should get married because we would survive that as well. So far so good. I am sure I would change things that have happened over the last five years but honestly I can't think of anything right now. I really like where we are in our lives right now and I am very happy with the choices we have made.

Andy has helped me become more fiscally responsible - not all of your savings should be in a shoe collection, now I actually have a savings account with money in it! He also taught me that games are not necessary in a relationship - now we usually air our thoughts relatively quickly instead of being passive aggressive - I still am from time to time but it doesn't seem to work on him so I come back to the direct approach and it works.

Andy is a great husband, Dad, friend, and business partner and I am looking forward to the next 5 years to see what we can do together. Maybe we will have to renew our vows at some point so that Andy can get those tears that he was expecting!

Happy 5 years Babe!

Swim Lessons!

Mur and I went to swim lessons yesterday for the first time. I guess at this age lessons really isn't the right word. We went at 10 AM on Sunday which seemed like a good time - early enough so your whole day isn't ruined and late enough that you don't have to set your alarm to get out of the house. He did great - he didn't scream when he was in the water and the water was pretty warm which is really the only things I can think of that could have gone wrong. I sang some songs and he chewed on a toy and that was about it. His face got in the water a little bit one time and he coughed a little bit - but he seemed fine after about 30 seconds. Andy was taking care of Deucey so we don't have any pictures. Hopefully one weekend we can go and take some pictures so that you can see him in his cute surfer shorts.

Visiting the Grandparents in Florida

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Florida to visit Bob and Talli in their new house. They bought a house outside of Orlando in the Spring of last year and this has been the first winter they spent in Florida.

This was also Murdoch's first plane flight. We were expecting the worst but he really wasn't that bad - only a little bit of crying on 2 out of the 4 flights. We did have a really bad experience traveling down there - a lot of weather problems - Murdoch was probably the happiest out of all of us. We had a good week down there - the weather was a little chilly but we still took some walks and enjoyed it because it was warmer than Boston, and we traveled down to Vero Beach to visit Murdoch's great-grandmother - 4 generations went out to lunch at once! And Andy and I managed to get a few days at the beach by ourselves which was nice. I think Murdoch had a great time - I am sure he loved all of the extra attention. Here are the rest of the pictures from our trip.

Trying to be more green - Paper Cups

The topic of the environment and global warming is very important to me so I thought I would publish a post every once in awhile on this subject.

I feel like there are a million articles and show out there on how you can become more green and more environmentally friendly. Sometimes I find the volume of this information overwhelming to the point that I feel like I am just not doing enough. I also find some of the suggestions are very expensive and time consuming. I know what you are saying - if something is important to you, you will make the time and make the money portion work as well. In some cases this is true but others it is not. Because of this I have decided to make one environmentally friendly change a month that is relatively easy, does not cost that much money, is free, or could actually save you money. This way I can focus on a positive change I am making instead of feeling like I am just not doing enough.

For this month I am starting the use of my own tea cup. Instead of going to the cafeteria every morning and getting a paper cup that I fill with hot water for my tea I brought a travel mug in from home. I started this on Monday so I have saved 4 cups from being used, and actually probably more - I have been pretty tired this week so there has been some afternoon tea consumption as well. It is a small change that was pretty easy for me so I should be able to stick with this. Over the course of a year I will save hundreds of cups and that feels like an accomplishment.

Mur Memory Memo - Hand Kisses

Another memory post! I am starting to realize all of the things that I am going to miss if I don't write them down. When Murdoch is having a bottle or when he is going to bed he likes to reach his hand up to my face. Sometimes this results in hair pulling or scratching my face but a lot of the time he puts his hand to my mouth I give him a kiss and then he puts his hand back down. I don't know what this means to him but to me it means that he is looking for a little comfort and I am able to help him out - maybe I am looking into it too much but I don't care. I don't enjoy the scratches or the hair pulling but when that little hand springs up to my face, I give him a kiss on his palm or finger tips, and then he drops it a little relaxed it makes me smile. I know this won't last forever - he is already starting to feed himself so he is using both hands and I don't know how long I will be rocking him to sleep so that will end at some point as well. I will also miss him opening up his eyes briefly every 30 seconds or so while I am rocking him to sleep as if he is checking to make sure I am still there and if I am it is okay to fall asleep. I love those two little eyes that look at you with such trust.

Mur Memory Memo - Kisses in Bed

This is another post for me so I don't forget this. Sunday morning Murdoch woke up a little earlier than normal so I brought him into bed with me because I didn't feel like getting up. I was laying in bed and he was sitting with his back to me playing with some toys. After playing for a little while he started turning around as if he was looking for me and when he turned to the right I gave him a kiss and he smiled. Then he turned to the left and I gave him another kiss on the cheek. Then he turned back to the right for another kiss and a smile and we did this for about 30 seconds. It was the cutest thing - after that I felt like I could get out of bed and start the day.

6 Months Part Two

I took this video about 30 minutes after the other one. I brought Murdoch downstairs and put him on the floor with some toys and left the room to put on some clothes to take him to daycare. I came back to just a little head and hands sticky out from the ottoman. Pretty soon I am going to come back in the room and he will be in a different room or he will be right behind me when I turn around! We are in trouble!

6 Months!

So we are catching up on videos and other blog-related activities. Here is the first of two 6 month videos - thought I should post this since he is going to be 7 months old in about a week :). Poor Mur was woken up for this video - I was sick so I wasn't sure if I would be motivated later to do his video.

Here are the 6 month 'stats':

Height - 29 Inches - 98%
Weight - 19 pounds, 12 ounces - 84%

Enjoy!

Baby/Murdoch Massage

This post is more for me but I thought I would share it with you as well. I realized that I need to document the cute things that Murdoch does while he is doing them because I will soon forget them as time marches on. Murdoch has started doing his own form of massage - or at least that is what we call it. He puts his knuckles down on something and then 'kneads' the area in a circular motion with his wrist. Of course he doesn't pick the most comfortable places like my sternum or Andy's throat but it is cute so we just move his hand to another area. He also tends to do this to objects other than the two of us like to the couch for example. Seems silly but it is just one of those small things that I think is really cute and I don't want to forget.

Photos from day care

I think the top picture may be my favorite picture of Murdoch. The second picture is of Murdoch and Allyson - his primary teacher from our old day care. Allyson was kind enough to send us some pictures from day care. Here are the rest of them.

Where are the baby gates?!

Well it looks like thing are just about to change at our house. I woke Mur up this morning around 5:40 to feed and change him. He was in a great mood which is always nice especially early in the morning. I put him back in his crib and changed for work hoping that he would fall back asleep. Well he didn't, he was up on all 4's rocking forward and backward squealing with delight. He eventually settled down but it was pretty funny. I went back into our bedroom and Andy was awake from all of the noise and asked what was going on in there. I told him and he is nervous - the crawling may start soon and we aren't ready!

Then I got an email from Andy later in the AM. Andy puts Mur in his bouncy seat while he takes a shower in the morning. Well while Andy was in the shower he heard a crash, some barking, and then some crying. He went back into the bedroom and said that Murdoch looked like a turtle with his house on his back. So I think we may have to break out the pack & play or he is going to have to play in the bathroom while Andy showers. I just thought this whole scene, at least in my head, was funny so I wanted to share it with you.

We better go out and buy some baby gates!

On the brighter side...

I realize that a lot of my posts have been me complaining and such. It has been a tough couple of weeks but at the same time the blog could use something positive. I don't have the six month videos uploaded yet so this one will have to do. Enjoy!

We have the flu we feel like poo

Wednesday night I called Andy in Orlando and said pray for me I think I have the flu. He told me to go to bed and hopefully it would pass. I had a sore throat and just felt a little off. Well after waking up every 1.5 - 2 hours all night starting around 9 PM due to a whining dog that needed to go out let me tell you I didn't just feel off I felt horrible! I got up the next morning sent a note saying I wasn't coming in, somehow got Mur to daycare and then went back home to pass out. Well Deucey wasn't having any of this - she wanted to go to the bathroom. Finally the dog walker picked her up and I got some sleep. Then I began to think if a person has to go the bathroom that much that is a UTI correct?! Oh god!!!!! Call the vet - they can get me in that night at 6:40 which seems like so far away at this point. Go back to sleep, wake up to pick Mur up, go home, get Deucey, put her in the car go to the vet (without the urine sample because I just couldn't get down the stairs fast enough to get it) and we are there for an exam. We walk out with antibiotics and pain killers for her and I have to produce a urine sample by tomorrow.

So we go home. I put everyone to bed, washed some bottles, gave Deucey her meds, and actually debated taking some of her pain meds because I thought they might work better than the Motrin I was taking on the pain in my joints - I don't of course because that would be cruel to Deucey and kind of weird on my part. So we all go to bed, with less wake ups compared to the previous night, though I was out there around 3AM in my bathrobe trying to collect a pee sample. It was hard though - I can barely get out of bed because I am in so much pain and she is running as fast as she can to get outside so I am collecting drops at a time for the vet.

Friday, drop Mur off, drop the urine off at the vet - they said that they didn't think it was enough - I said it took me three shots just to get that so hopefully it was because I had already started her on the antibiotics - it seemed cruel to wait just because they needed a good sample that I was unable to produce. Back home, more sleep. Me to the doctor - gets some antibiotics and some stuff for my eye - yes I have pink eye as well! More sleep, pick up Mur, wait expectantly for Andy to get home.

Andy has the flu and pink eye as well. So his last message of I am almost home there is a light at the end of the tunnel really never happened. So we survived the weekend, Mur doesn't seem sick, except for a running nose and maybe pink eye, and Deucey is much better.

And on top of that my Mom was supposed to come this past weekend but moved her visit. I don't know that I would want to walk into a house with the thought that I could walk out with the flu and pink eye. Plus she was feeling a litttle off herself and didn't really want to travel if she was about to get the flu. She is coming for a visit it three weekends though which will be really nice - Andy is going to be in England that weekend for a boys weekend so it will be us and the two troops. And next week we will be in FL visiting the other set of grandparents. A little sun to help burn this flu off!

I have his 6-month video but it will have to wait - at this point I don't even know what I taped because I was in such a fog. Going back to work tomorrow. Hopefully that is a good decision. Hope you all are well.

A big change

So I got a call yesterday that I have been dying to receive but somehow when it actually occured yesterday it made me instantly sick to my stomach. This may be long so please feel free to skip it - I think this is more for me.

We started looking for daycare last May or June which was apparently way too late - you should basically sign up right after your pregnancy test says positive around here. We went with Bright Horizons which is a chain in the area that is very good but it is also very expensive. I would love to use something less expensive but I didn't want to send Mur just anywhere and I don't know anyone else that uses daycare that lives close so I went with this because I felt like he would be safe there and I wouldn't be thinking what could be going wrong when I was at work. We went to look at one place, the one we wanted both because I knew people that had been there, it is very convenient to home and it was the cheapest, and they basically told us that there most likely wouldn't be an opening in the October/November timeframe. So we signed up there and were put on a waiting list at two other centers which were very close to Andy's work but of course more expensive. About 5 weeks into my maternity leave I started to interview nannies because it looked like daycare just wasn't going to happen. I found one nanny that I loved but she wasn't ready to commit right then and I didn't like the other people as much. Luckily within a day or so of this Bright Horizons called saying that had an opening - at the most expensive one - of course that was my luck. So we took it right away because it was nice, the people were nice, they were reliable, and I needed to take Mur somewhere because going back to work was quickly approaching.

So fast forward a few months - we have gotten used to the cost and we absolutely love it there. Love the center, love the director, and really love Mur's teacher. We get a call from another Bright Horizons - there is an opening. It was just a little bit cheaper so we decided to stay put. And I thought to myself why couldn't it have been the other place! Well yesterday it was the other place. They called and they have an opening starting in March. So for months I have been waiting for this phone call and now that it has come I don't know what to do. In the end we decided to make the change because it is a lot cheaper and because I know other people who go there and they love it. I am not really sure why this is so stressful for me - I just love the teacher at Kendall and I know Mur loves her and I am just worried he won't be as happy or receive the same level of care. But at the same time is he really going to know exactly what is happening - people keep telling me that he will be fine, he is only 6 months, and I know that is probably true but it is still causing a knot in my stomach. I am sure after a week or so there I will look back and think why did I stress so much about that?!!!

Thank you for listening. Sometimes if I can just write something down the problem works it way out because I see how stupid I am being. I still have a knot but I know I am making the right decision. I will let you know how it goes.

I think we are over the hump

I think we are finally fever free! Mur had his last dose of Motrin on Saturday while we were getting our taxes done and he hasn't felt warm since. I think the fever is finally gone so he is going back to day care today. He has another cold though which is making him cranky and I think I woke up with the same cold this morning. With Andy leaving very early tomorrow morning and not getting home until Friday it could be a long week with single mom duty and another cold.

Hopefully this one isn't too bad and doesn't last too long. I think I will get out the Neety Pot to clean my nose out. I am struggling with cold medication since becoming pregnany and having Mur. Previous to Murdoch I would have taken any and everything to make myself feel better - that would include over the counter medication only just in case you are thinking something else. I could barely take anything while I was pregnany which was miserable and now that I am breast feeding if I take anything it dries my right up and that affects Murdoch food supply. So I am trying a more natural approach. In fact I am making an effort to get more natural foods and be more environmentally aware in general. I don't think that I am ready to become a vegetarian anytime soon but I am trying to get organic fruits and vegetables, make Mur's food (at least for now when the menu is so small), and I am going to try out some diapers that are supposed to be better for the environment. I feel like as a parent I am doing this for Murdoch so it seems worth it. So every once in awhile I may post a little note about a new product that I have tried that is a little better for the environment. So far I love the Method cleaning products - I love the smell and they are supposed to be good for the environment and they are priced well and available at Target. I will give the diaper review as soon as they are delivered this week. Just don't tell Andy about this - he would probably say that the diapers suck and that they are expensive - in fact they are only a few cents more a diaper which isn't too bad.

Okay I will sign off before I write too much about this subject. Posts with fun videos going soon!

Yesterday it was a tooth, today it is a fever :(

Daycare called yesterday because Murdoch had a 101 fever which was taken under his arm so we figured it would be around 102 with the 'proper' way of taking a temp that I won't go into right now. Andy was able to pick him up. He was fine - flushed and a little out of it but not upset or cranky. Andy took his temp and it was 102, called the pediatrician and they said as long as he isn't showing any other symptoms he should be fine with a little Tylenol. So Mur got some Tylenol and a little love and then off to bed. He didn't finish his whole bottle this morning when I fed him so hopefully that isn't a symptom of something more than a fever. Andy is going to stay home today and keep an eye on him. Hopefully the fever goes away today. He is a troooper though - no major complaints from him, unless you can't get that bottle warmed up fast enough!

Nothing else new here except getting ready for our tax appointment on Saturday - oh so exciting! So we started to get everything organized last night and now we need to find everything that is missing. I think tonight will be a night of adding up our rental expenses in spreadsheets so it will probably also involve a glass of wine.

Enjoy the day. Hopefully the next post is just a cute picture or video for no reason and no talk of fevers.

Houston we have a tooth...

...and some tears, screaming, crying, and no napping unless you hold me and whisper in my ear that I am going to survive this horrible time when weird white things are breaking through my perfect pink gums! Oh and by the way I need to you be up walking or rocking me this whole time or it just isn't going to work.

That is right - after months of waiting for that tooth to poke through I noticed it yesterday. And to our surprise it wasn't on the top it was on the bottom. The top is still much harder than the bottom and there are little uneven grooves on the top that are the size of teeth but still no teeth there.

Mur had his first dose of children's Tylenol yesterday and I think that helped. Most of the time he is still very happy - just a little cranky when he needs to go down - not sure if it is the tooth or we just aren't seeing the tired signals early enough so he is then too tired to sleep.

So far we are weathering the first tooth pretty well - at least in my opinion. We spent a little bit of time rocking around midnight but besides that it was a pretty good night. Hopefully this continues with the addition of each new tooth. I have gotten used to him sleeping through the night for the most part - I really don't want to go back to waking up every 2-3 hours. I know I will have to do it from time to time but I don't want to do that full-time for weeks - it is brutal!

My favorite new toy

So as you can tell from the last couple of posts I have gotten all of the videos downloads to my laptop and then on dropshots so I can post from work. Aimee and Kevin let us borrow Brady's exersaucer and Murdoch loves it. It allows him to stand without help and he can spin around and play with the different toys. We still need to get batteries so he can have all of the bells and whistles but it has already been a month and still not batteries for the poor kid. He seems pretty happy without the extras though.

On a sidenote Andy and I went out for the first time by ourselves last night! Wayne and Courtney gave us tickets to the Celtics game and offered to babysit Mur! It was great. We went to a bar for dinner and a couple drinks. I had the most alcohol in one sitting - two whole beers! And I was probably kind of drunk - not too much drinking for me in the past 1.5 years or so. When we went into the bar I realized that I couldn't even remember the last time I had entered a bar. It was cold and rainy/snowy. I forgot that warm and humid feeling when you enter a bar in the winter - I really miss that. I told Andy that I would like to go to a bar around 2 PM on a Saturday every once in awhile just to experience that again - I don't want it to only happen every 6 months or so. So we had dinner, we were able to sit there and talk and enjoy the beer without thinking about will he wake up, what time is it, how much longer until we need to feed him, etc. It was bizzare to have no restraints time wise. The game was fun - I was fading in the 4th quarter so we left a little early - it is very hard for me to stay awake past 9:30/10 especially when I have to work the next day. But it was still fun. It wasn't like old times because I don't know that it will ever be like that but it was still nice. Enjoy the video and Happy Valentine's Day!

5 Months Take II

This is another 5 month video about 5 minutes after the first one. I think this one is a little longer but he rolls all the way over so I wanted to post it. There is a lot of movement in this one - Deucey really wanted to be involved especially when both of us were on the floor.

Murdoch is loving his tummy time. He pushes up on his hands/arms and gives you this big smile - especially in the morning. It makes it a little easier on the weekend to go in and get him when you don't want to get out of bed when he gives you a big smile and is so excited to see you. We have a 3-day weekend coming up and I am really looking forward to that. One for the extra time off so hopefully we can get a little more rest and also because I will get to see him for three days. I feel like I barely see him now that he is going to bed so early. I see him in the early AM to feed and change him and then I only see him for about 1.5 hours before he goes to bed. He is such a joy to be with so I want to have as much time as I can, I know it won't last forever, pretty soon he will be asking me to drop him off around the corner because I am embarrassing him.

5 Months!

I am catching up on some posts! Here is Murdoch's 5 month video. It took me about 6 takes to get this one. It is a little long but he is rolling over so please be patient. I have another video I will post shortly of basically the same thing. This guy is getting big! This month we started sweet potatoes and he loves them! If only his love for veggies would last forever. I am thinking that it won't so I will just enjoy this time when he gets upset if I can get the next spoonful in fast enough! Two little cubes of sweet potatoes a day and hopefully that will keep the doctor away! Enjoy the video. More to come!