Poor Baby :(

We get all the way to Michigan and then The Marsh wakes up on Monday with a fever and gunk leaking out of the corner of his eyes. What a way to start his vacation! He spent all day Monday coughing with a fever around 100. Everytime he woke up from a nap his poor little eyes were sealed shut from the gunk. Poor little guys was so tired all day.





So on Tuesday afternoon we took him into the Walk-in clinic to get checked out. Of course, he is all smiles even though he feels bad. The first thing he wants to do is push around the IVR cart.





He was so good when the doctor came in to examine him. He sat patiently while she listened to his back and checked his ears.





The prognosis: Double ear infection :(

So he is now on Amoxicilan for 10 days, which he apparently loves. When we prepare it in the syringe he grabs it and sucks it down himself. Makes it easy for us!





Day 2 of the antibiotics and we were feelig well enough to reorganize Grandma's cupboards!







And, of course, help mommy blog!





~AKO

Wordless Wednesday: Smile!

~AKO

What a Month!

So we've taken an unexpected hiatus from blogging.  So much has been going on that has taken up our time.  I haven't even been able to download pictures from my computer since October!  We've had a homecoming, 1st birthday party, viruses, sinus infections, work drama, Thanksgiving, walking, power suges, frozen pipes, and hurricane baby!

We're in Michingan this week for the holidays so hopefully I will have some free time to get things organized so we can start posting again.  Especially since Grandma is here to keep The Marsh occupied!

~AKO

Happy Halloween!!

~AKO

Day 29: What We've Been Up To

First of all I have to give props to all of the full time single parents out there! I don't know how you do it. I'm on day 29 and am EXHAUSTED! Most nights I fall asleep with Marshall around 8:00 in the evening. It has been so long since I powered up my personal laptop that the battery was completely dead tonight.

The good thing is that we're in the last week of Freddy's little mini-deployment. I'm actually starting the beginnin stages of a sinus infection so I'm hoping it holds out until he returns next week. I've been sucking on cough drops all day and probably should by stock in Kleenex. I can't take anything like Nyquil because it will put me into a coma and then I won't hear Marshall if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

To make matters worse, poor Harley is having problems ith his back legs again. Back in 2008 when he was still a kitten, Harley had some problems with his back legs. It got to the point where he couldn't put any weight on them and the vet never figured out what the problem was. He tested negative for everything the neurologist could think of and then the issue seemed to resolve itself after he was put on steroid pills. Well, 3 years later and no episodes so the vet weaned him off the pills. After a month of no pills all of a sudden he is having problems again. So I've started giving him his pills in the hope that it will help him. If he doesn't show any improvement by next Wednesday, he'll probably have to go back into the vet.

Since I haven't shared any photos in a while I thought I would share my first video of the Marsh. To give a little background, Marshall LOVES the Fresh Beat Band. Nick Jr plays their videos between shows and before their On Demand programming. Whenever one of their songs comes on the TV, Marshall stops what he's doing and dances to the music.





~AKO

Day 15: Baby's First Evacuation

This morning started off like any other day. I woke up around 5:30 and rushed through my shower and feeding the cats so I could be done before Marshall woke up. This morning he was good and I actually had to wake him up at 6:30 to get ready to go. We left around 6:45 and I dropped him off at daycare around 7:15. Arriving at work around 8:15, I had a new employee start yesterday so I spent my entire morning in a conference room with her training. We had just finished up for the day around noon when my boss peeked in the room and motioned for me to come into his office.

Well, it was my friend, Michelle on his phone. Apparently there was a small electrical fire at Marshall's daycare and they had to evacuate all of the kids. When they couldn't get in touch with me, they called Freddy. When he couldn't get in touch with me he called Michelle, who went over and picked up Marshall.

I spoke with the director of the daycare this evening and no one was hurt, but the location is going to be closed until they can make repairs. As an alternative they are moving the kids over to their other location, which is primarily for the older kids. The good news is that I still have someplace to take him. The bad thing is that my commute is going to suck more since I'll have to take the bus into Hoboken now :(

And to make matters worse I think I'm getting sick...

~AKO

Day 12: It's Almost Time!!!

The Marsh was 11 months old yesterday! I can't believe he is almost a year old! He is turning into such a little man.

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

~AKO

Day 8: Grand Plans

Have you ever noticed that your day starts off with the grandest of plans only to be thwarted by life?  I had all of these things on my to do listt that I was going to get done today... Not a single item was checked off that list.

On top of it The Marsh has been having some nasty reactions to mosquito bites lately.  The one on his arm took almost 2 weeks to go away and now he has one on his face.  I am going to try some cortizone cream but if it isn't any better by Thursday we'll be making a trip to the doctor.  He ran a fever this evening but the tylenol and a nice warm bath seemed to have brought it down some.  He was a little cranky but not too bad.  AND he's wheezing again.  I am guessing he has seasonal asthma or seasonal allergies since he was fine all summer.

The mosquito bite...

Day 7: So Tired

That's it...

I'm pretty sure 8:30 is NOT too early for bed!

AKO

Day 6: Falling Behind

There was no Day 5 post yesterday because I fell asleep with the Marsh around 5pm and we both slept straight through until 2am!! I guess I was tired...

It really feels like I'm falling behind on everything. I have so many things to get done in the next 6 weeks that I don't even know how to get organized. It doesn't help that with Freddy gone I really can't get started on things during the week until after 8 or 9pm when the baby goes to sleep. I guess I'll get done what I get done...

In other news... Go Lions!! They won again today!

And... I'm thinking the baby gate might lose the battle soon...





~AKO

Day 4: If...

I've seen this floating around and thought it might be fun.

Fill in the blanks...


•If I were to get pregnant again: We would be thrilled that Marshall was going to be a big brother and that our family would be complete.

•If I could have any job in the world I think I might like to be a stay at home mom. I would love to be able to spend time with Marshall all day instead of just a few hours in the morning and at night.

•If I had a day to myself I would probably sleep all day and relax!

•If I could get married all over again we definitely would have done something smaller outside of the city. My brother and sister-in-law got married in Key West and it was so relaxing not having to worry about all the pieces coming together.

•If I could live anywhere in the US I think I would love to live a little closer to my family... but not too close :)

•If Marshall would have been a girl he would have been named Olivia or Abigail.

•If I could have any talent in the world I would love to be more creative.

•If you met me in real life you would probably say wow! I can't believe she's in charge of a portfolio that generates over 500 million in revenue.

•If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would probably pursue a degree in music. I definitely have times where I miss being involved in an orchestra and performing.

•If money were not an object we would have a nice spacious condo in the Upper East Side of Manhattan... complete with parking for both our cars :)

•If I could meet one celebrity I think I would like to meet Tom Hanks. He has always been very interesting and down to earth to me.

•If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it would definitely be Target. I can never get out of there for less than $150!

•If we get another pet I would definitely want a dog. I grew up with a dog, but we're just not home enough to have one right now.

•If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, we'd go to Disney World!

•If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I would definitely pick a house cleaner. I need someone to help keep up with the dust and cat hair!

•If I had the option of plastic surgery I would definitely do something like a tummy tuck.

~AKO

Day 3: Who's Ready for Post Season???

~AKO

Day 2: Wordless Wednesday

~AKO

Day 1: Gymboree Fun!

Freddy left today for a month long mission in California. He is helping another unit mobilize for deployment to Afghanistan. We've been lucky so far in that he hasn't had to be gone for more than the 2 - 3 weeks for his AT so this is going to be the longest that he is away since we've been together. Marshall is now old enough to realize that daddy did not come back this morning but doesn't understand why. It won't be long before I have to explain to him why daddy has to leave.

So, of course, everyone was acting up today since daddy was gone. On top of all that, I went to draw a bath for Marshall and we had no hot water! I improvised and was able to get some hot water from our Poland Spring dispenser but I hope it is back in the morning. There is nothing worse than having to take a cold shower!

Anyway, I wanted to make sure we were able to do at least one family thing before Freddy left. We were supposed to go to the zoo a couple weeks ago but got rained out. So, I signed us up for a preview class at our local Gymboree. I figured it might be a fun way for Marshall to socialize a bit more with kids his own age. Well, after some hesitation, he decided this might be fun.















We decided to enroll and attend the class weekly. I kind of wish I would have found this when Marshall was younger. What I did learn is that my son is a little bruiser! He was pushing and taking toys away from the other babies. I'm hoping this class will help teach him to share :)

AND if you notice in that last picture, The Marsh has 4 teeth coming in on the top.

~AKO

Putty Time!

~AKO

Marshall's Super Fun New Game

Needless to say the doors are now tied shut...

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

~AKO

Results are Normal

Last week we were finally able to get Marshall in for his sweat test. Since he had respiratory issues last Spring at such a young age, the Pulmonologist always sends babies in for a sweat test as a routine test to rule out cystic fibrosis as the cause.

The Marsh did pretty good sitting there getting the monitors and collection discs taped onto his arms. Once they were on, we had to wait around for 30 minutes to make sure enough sweat was collected.





Even though my mom said that he really didn't fit the profile for a positive result, it is still a little nerve-racking waiting for those results. The nurse finally called today and his results came back normal.

What that means is that poor baby probably has seasonal allergies thanks to his mommy :( He had started wheezing the weekend of Hurricane Irene when the weather was damp and stopped when everything dried out so that pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

Looks like a lifetime of Benedryl for the Marsh...

~AKO

Signs

We started to really talk about owning our own home again. In addition, our apartment is just too small for 2 adults, 1 baby, and 4 cat. We would like to have another baby so that Marshall isn't an only child and can't do that until we're in a house.

Well, I received this in the mail over the weekend...





Think someone is trying to tell us something :)

~AKO

Baby's Day Out

Today we decided we needed to go out and purchase a couple of Marshall containers baby gates after spending most of last evening hauling him away from the television and out of the bathroom that is connected to the living room. We had a couple of firsts today.

First and foremost, Marshall rode in his big boy car seat for the first time. We were pretty much at the point where we were leaving his infant seat in the car and carrying him back and forth since he was just getting too darn heavy to haul around in it. After extensive researching (to the point where my husband was beginning to think we were never going to choose one) I finally decided on the Britax Boulevard 70 Convertible car seat. He seemed to be pretty comfy in the new chair but I can’t wait to be able to turn him around. It will be like a whole new world for him to be able to see out the front instead of the sides of the car.


Daddy getting The Marsh all set up in his new chair…



Ready to go!!




The 2nd first was Marshall’s first ride in a shopping cart! Since he was sitting up in highchairs with no problem we figured we give the shopping cart a go and leave the stroller at home. So we got him all set up with his floppy seat ready to take on Baby’s R Us. For the first 10 minutes or so he kept looking all around since he’d always come to the store in his car seat or stroller. He looked so small in that big shopping cart!





After a while he started to lean to the side so we’ll need to keep working on sitting up in the shopping cart. We also picked up a few extra things – new pacis, sippy cups, disposeable placemat, and some yummy fruit puffs.





The 3rd first was not so fun. After we were done buying a whole bunch of stuff we probably didn’t need from Baby’s R Us (I can never get out of there for less than $150!), we headed back to the car, got all of the stuff packed in the trunk, and The Marsh buckled into his car seat. Freddy started backing up when all of a sudden we came to an abrupt halt. Baby’s first fender bender :( We were going pretty slow so I can only imagine how fast the other guy was going because our car now looks like this…





And the other car looks like this. Do you see the little tiny scratch on his bumper???





He was trying to tell us that he could just pop that dent out of our bumper himself. Nice try buddy! We’re filing a claim!

So, once we got home The Marsh settled in and played with his new firetruck. Since he was pushing my mouse around on the floor the other day I figured it was time for his first real truck.





And he wasn’t too happy about this…





I’m sure once we get the gate set up around the television he will be even less happy!

~AKO

Future Homemaker?

Earlier this week, when I picked up Marshall from daycare, I came in to find him "playing house" with one of the other babies. He was enjoying himself so much I felt bad gathering him up to go home.






Maybe I have a future chef on my hands :)

~AKO

"Hi Mom!"

So one day a couple months ago, I heard The Marsh stirring on the baby monitor. I came in to this...





Now, whenever he wakes up, I come in to see him peeking over the crib railing. Won't be long before we're converting to the toddler bed :(

~AKO

Wordless Wednesday

~AKO

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

I know... cheesy :) Anyway, it is about time to do some remodeling around here starting with that banner. All the photos in the banner are of Marshall when he was around 3 months old. Now that he's a big boy we need to do some updating. So, you may find some broken links or pictures while I get things updated so please be patient :)

BTW.... We came out of the hurricane fairly unscathed in our area.

~AKO

Hurricane Irene

Seriously... first the earthquake on Tuesday and now a hurricane??? No one told me the rapture was coming early :) As of 9:30 this evening we're getting some pretty steady rain and a little wind here in Central Jersey. My house is about 5 miles from NYC so it is anyone's guess on the impact here. My office building is in downtown Manhattan, which had a mandatory evacuation today so we've prepared for the possibility of working from home for an extended period of time.

I was going to start posting this week about some of the stuff we've done over the past month but I'm not sure if I'll have power tomorrow or, if it does go out, how long we'll be without power. So my great return to blog-land may be delayed.

The Marsh had to take inventory of our hurricane supplies...





He finds our selection satisfactory.





My husband had to report for duty with National Guard around 8:00pm this evening so The Marsh and I are having our own little hurricane party with the putties. When I spoke to him they were bunking in the Armory and then heading out to the evacuation shelters in the morning.

Freddy getting ready to leave earlier this evening. Marshall is actually starting to recognize when we leave so he was not happy when Daddy walked out the door.





We'll return after the hurricane clean-up!!

~AKO