tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88050017290528924842024-03-07T22:59:03.709-05:00lifemaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-71801541311778932972012-05-22T11:53:00.001-04:002012-05-22T14:47:51.717-04:00Clara's Arrival!!!have some mild bp issues that are made worse in pregnancy, so as you know i had been followed closely by my OB this pregnancy, frequent visits, growth scans, ect. I really hoped to go into labor on my own b/c i wanted to not be induced like Connor's delivery. I was hoping to avoid an epidural or pain meds, but I was also open to them if I got to the point where i needed them. As I approached 39 weeks, I started having a lot of contractions at night time. They would generally last a couple of hours but go away after i went to bed. At my 38 week visit, I was 2 cm and they told me that they would like to induce me at 39 weeks, but also that I didn't have to be induced as long as things were stable with my bps. (((my obs)))<br />
........<br />
My bps at home were starting to rise a little although I did not have protein in my urine so my Obs were ok (i had mild pre-e with Connor at the end).By my next visit (almost 39) weeks, I had made the decision to stop working (I reached my scheduled end date and since i was swelling some, I decided to go ahead and go out). When I went in for my OB visit, I had another growth scan which showed her to be approx 7 #15 , fluid was good, ect. (they were measuring me b/c Connor had growth issues before birth). I still wasn't sure what i wanted to do b/c I was conflicted on going ahead with the induction.<br />
..........<br />
When she checked me I was 3 cm, and since I was having a lot of contractions and my bp was slowly rising I told her I wanted to go ahead with the induction (which was scheduled for 2 days from then). I actually felt very at peace after i made the decision, but I still was praying to go into labor before then!!!<br />
.......<br />
Wednesday 5/16 we had a great family day- DH took off from work and we took Connor downtown, to the toy shop, out for lunch, and ice cream, ect. It was so relaxing and fun to spend our last day as a family of 3! I ended up getting a new iphone (it is through my work and it finally came- crazy timing). We went out that night for five guys burgers and fries and to walmart to pick up a few last minute things and a gallon of milk (LOL we are so redneck I actually ran into some coworkers and acted like nothing was up, b/c i had only told a few people that i was being induced. One asked me if I was having any contractions and I flat out told her no, although i was full of it b/c i was having them off and on walking around walmart! I actually didn't even tell my parents till the next morning b/c I wanted to keep it quiet and definitely off facebook.<br />
.......<br />
Thursday morning 5/17 we were up and out of the house by 6 am. My in-laws had driven up that morning to keep Connor. They planned to take him to school, and then come back to our house figuring that the induction process would take some hours and they could still make it to the hospital in time to wait in the waiting room prior to baby's arrival. I did not want anyone to be there during my labor including in the waiting room, with Connor DH kept going out to the waiting room to chat with his parents, ect. It stressed me out a lot because I didn't want anybody else involved in my labor, how many cm dilated i was , ect. DH and I got breakfast on the way to the hospital and checked in around 6 30. We got to our room, they had me change into the gown, ect. They started with the usual admission questions, drew my labs, put in my IV, filled out paperwork, consents, ect. I could tell immediately my nurse Joan was amazing. She was older, British accent and appeared very genuine. The CRNA came by and did some pre-screening questions too. After he left, Joan asked me different questions about my labor preferences, did I want to get an epidural, ect. I told her I was undecided but that I would prefer to not get one if possible. I told her about Connor's delivery and how crazy it all went, ect. She assured me that she wouldn't let me deliver my own baby this time by accident and she didn't plan to deliver the baby either, haha. She started a very low dose of pitocin and said that she didn't plan to increase it too fast because of my history. She showed me the strip where i was already contracting some, and baby's heart rate, ect. It was so different than Connor's delivery where they didn't explain anything to me, ect. I asked her about going to the bathroom, unplugging the monitors, ect and she was encouraging of me getting up as much as possible, told me that she wanted me to walk around, ect and stay active.<br />
.............<br />
I tried to rest but almost immediately was having more intense contractions after the pitocin started. I had brought my new phone thinking i could enter in my contacts from my old phone during the early labor part, but there was no way. They brought me a popsicle and it took me at least 10 minutes to eat it. My OB came in around 9 30 (she was in the middle of a repeat c/s who had arrived at the same time as us with her water broken- i only knew this b/c the girl rode up in the elevator with us!). She checked me and said i was " a good 4" and went ahead and broke my water.<br />
.......<br />
After this my contractions picked up quite a bit more, they had increased the pit a little more. I was up and down going to the bathroom about every 15 minutes. It was probably hard to monitor my contractions/baby's hear rate, but Joan never seemed bothered. When i was plugged she would adjust the monitor and make sure everything looked ok, but i was probably off more than on. I was standing and walking around most of the time, she offered me a birth ball, and i was able to use that for about an hour off and on. I think Joan was afraid i was going to fall b/c i kept using the IV pole and the bed to stablilize myself. She encouraged DH to help me by supporting my back, ect but i didn't really want to be touched at all.<br />
.......<br />
At some point which I think was maybe 10 30 or 11 or so she wanted to get a strip on the baby since I was on the pit and so she had me lay in the bed for a few minutes which was pretty much torture. I knew that if she couldn't get a good heart strip they might want me back in the bed for good so i was able to get through that. During that time I asked her to check me and she said I was about 6 cm. I started to feel like I couldn't make it, and with Connor it took a couple of hours to get an epidural so I told her I was thinking about getting one, but not sure if was ready yet. She told me there was no pressure at all , whatever i wanted to do, ect. She went ahead and gave me some reglan and pepcid and ran my IV bolus in so that if i decided i wanted it i could be ready.<br />
...........<br />
My contractions continued to intensify and were basically non stop. It helped a lot to walk and go to the bathroom still. I think Joan could tell that things were moving faster and she told me that I might want to use a bedpan instead of the toilet because of my precip delivery last time. I really think I was at the point of transition b/c i was now at the point of "I cannot do this" . I told her that I thought that i wanted an epidural and she told me that was not a problem, she would call anesthesia, ect. At that point, the charge nurse Robyn who had been also in and out took over for her because they wanted Joan to go ahead and take her lunch since they were thinking i would be a pretty imminent delivery. When she left she told me she would be seeing me in a bit and that she thought i would be feeling a lot better next time she saw me!<br />
......<br />
When Robyn came in, I felt like i was at the point of no return with the pain and contractions. She said Joan had talked to anesthesia and they were on their way, ect. They came into the room and were getting things set up. I was sort of laughing through the pain b/c they had pulled the anesthesiologist from another room b/c they thought i was so close to delivery. I said, ha ha , too bad for her, I win!<br />
.....<br />
I told Robyn I needed to go to the bathroom again, and she's like " You don't have to poop , right???" I assured her I didn't (which was true) and went in there and came back out. I sat on the bed and immediately felt completely different- I was hit with a wave of contractions and had severe pressure. I started yelling " I have to poop!!!!" I am not sure what else i said but I know that I was begging for Robyn to check me. She said that i was at least 8 cm, maybe a stretch to 9. She said "baby's head is right there" . <br />
......<br />
I was crying, i told her i wasn't sure what to do, I couldn't do it. With Connor it took forever for the epidural to even take effect so I knew in my heart that there was no point in getting it and this baby was coming out. I told the anesthesiologist that I didn't want to do it and they left- from that point things were very intense and fast. Somehow a lot of people got to the room including my OB, a few nurses ect. The nurses were helping support my feet, but they didn't have any time for stirrups, my OB didn't even have time to put on sterile gloves or drapes or anything. Dh was holding my hand and they had me put my hand on her head as she was crowning. <br />
<br />
....<br />
A few pushes and she was out completely, i knew immediately when i saw her chunky self that she was no 7 lb baby, haha! The nurses were amazing they had grabbed my camera, were taking pics, DH got to cut the cord which he totally didn't expect. They put her immediately up on my chest, she looked right at me! She was alert and quiet, so different from Connor who screamed immediately from birth!<br />
......<br />
I had some tearing and so ended up having to get stitches with lidocaine down there, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I asked them to weigh her and she was 8#15! The nurses were so wonderful, they immediately put her skin to skin again after that and i nursed her and snuggled for a while. Afterwards, Robyn told me that when she checked me , i was really 9-10 cm but she didn't want me to freak out while she called everybody to the room. I was immediately up and went to the bathroom and they helped me rinse off, into a clean gown, ect which felt like heaven<br />
.........<br />
. A few minutes later my nurse Joan came back from lunch I told her I felt a lot better!maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-24370130982983307332011-08-31T11:29:00.008-04:002011-08-31T12:58:50.085-04:00First Blog Post of 2011...Yikes! Lots of pics and a loooong post.Hello all (or anyone who still has me on their blogroll). I apologize for neglecting my blog over the past 8-9 months. Yikes! I can't believe the last time I posted on here was December 2010. I MUST do better.
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<br />Anyway, right to business....
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<br />SO what have we been up to in our family? Just regular life.
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<br />My baby is now a very talkative little boy who has no problem telling you what he's thinking! He makes us laugh on a daily basis and also finds new ways to get in trouble. He has a new big-boy room with a double bed and is overall doing a great job with potty training although we have a way to go with that! But they say boys are harder (or at least that is what people tell me :)
<br />His hair is redder than ever.
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<br />Patrick and I celebrated our FIVE YEAR wedding anniversary in May- time flies!
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<br />I completed my second year at my practice, and there were a lot of changes for me this year as far as work- we started a new electronic medical record system which means a lot of craziness. I had my birthday this summer, now i'm more than halfway to 60 haha, but we'll just say 29 and holding for now.
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<br />I have posted a million and a half pictures on flickr so if you have been checking these will be repeats. I just got a new camera (Nikon D60) and so one of my new adventures is learning photography with it.
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<br />Quick recap of 2011 so far!!!!
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<br />January:
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<br />We had a really big snowstorm!
<br /><a title="january 189 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5346075329/"><img alt="january 189" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5346075329_fe663d11cf.jpg" width="500" height="407" /></a>
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<br /><a title="january 186 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5345943201/"><img alt="january 186" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5345943201_e704a7e69a.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br /><a title="january 161 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5346551532/"><img alt="january 161" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5346551532_bda5bd2a56.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
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<br />my friend Gina had a baby shower to welcome her little boy- i went up there and back in less than 24 hours- the boys stayed home!
<br /><a title="college roomies- and random starlet, lol. by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5399585617/"><img alt="college roomies- and random starlet, lol." src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5399585617_6a81ba9424.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br />February:
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<br />Connor got the flu- boo.
<br /><a title="sickbay by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5470779603/"><img alt="sickbay" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5017/5470779603_a4d808a50f.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br />daddy wears shorts in the winter too!
<br /><a title="feb 032 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5471380494/"><img alt="feb 032" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5471380494_60cb2a5b3f.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br />Connor climbed out of the crib and we converted his bed to a toddler
<br /><a title="hard worker by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5484597006/"><img alt="hard worker" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5484597006_353d373136.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
<br /><a title="new bedding by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5518841170/"><img alt="new bedding" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5518841170_61d95e7283.jpg" width="500" height="299" /></a>
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<br />March:
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<br /><a title="IMAG0430 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5534580602/"><img alt="IMAG0430" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5534580602_0850dcca97.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>
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<br />went to the lake and somewhere called "goats on the roof"
<br /><a title="april 025 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5590264233/"><img alt="april 025" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5023/5590264233_b029b96bc0.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
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<br />tired boy after a hike
<br /><a title="after our hike. by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5590273677/"><img alt="after our hike." src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5590273677_ee92cdec10.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
<br />this month we turned Connor's car seat forward facing as he was getting a little too tall to continue rear facing with his height- we made it 28 months RF!
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<br />got his first T ball set
<br /><a title="data by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5601184899/"><img alt="data" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5221/5601184899_0d020c0bc5.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>
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<br />April:
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<br />celebrated Easter...he's spoiled for sure!
<br /><a title="easter 063 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5651910382/"><img alt="easter 063" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/5651910382_c4ebf9db54.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br /><a title="easter 118 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5651955088/"><img alt="easter 118" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5651955088_ca3ea2f3ab.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
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<br />May:
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<br />Trip to Hilton Head Island ( i still need to upload a bunch of pics)
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<br /><a title="data by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5743966798/"><img alt="data" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/5743966798_285878505e.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>
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<br /><a title="data by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5720197093/"><img alt="data" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/5720197093_6acd3f3f1a.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>
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<br />sprinkler in the back yard
<br /><a title="may 478 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5779439272/"><img alt="may 478" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5779439272_8aaa3dda65.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br />June:
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<br />good checkup at the dentist
<br /><a title="At dentist by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5861353071/"><img alt="At dentist" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2688/5861353071_a068f0e585.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>
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<br />new mower
<br /><a title="june 003 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5878904073/"><img alt="june 003" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/5878904073_6d7ac3885c.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br />July:
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<br />swam in the lake
<br /><a title="july 010 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5927956755/"><img alt="july 010" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6013/5927956755_6d9846eca6.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>
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<br /><a title="july 023 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5927959409/"><img alt="july 023" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6134/5927959409_196bf691b4.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a>
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<br />did a lot of coloring- still a lefty!
<br /><a title="DSC_0168 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5967499689/"><img alt="DSC_0168" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6030/5967499689_7153ffe311.jpg" width="500" height="335" /></a>
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<br />had my birthday and got a new camera!
<br /><a title="DSC_0252 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5967505241/"><img alt="DSC_0252" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/5967505241_f2506c7acf.jpg" width="500" height="335" /></a>
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<br />new toy:<a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d60/images/d60-600.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 600px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 559px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d60/images/d60-600.jpg" /></a>
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<br />August:
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<br />big boy room!
<br /><a title="august 357 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/6009902909/"><img alt="august 357" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6128/6009902909_acb26cca74.jpg" width="500" height="335" /></a>
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<br />learning the potty way
<br /><a title="blackmail #1 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/6029964676/"><img alt="blackmail #1" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6196/6029964676_02766fd54e.jpg" width="335" height="500" /></a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/6029792680/" title="august 041-2 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/6029792680_fcb1b2b03b.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="august 041-2"></a>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-30307203377871069972010-12-19T23:05:00.001-05:002010-12-19T23:05:16.299-05:00Santa, round 2.<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5272234037/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5208/5272234037_b12d48856d.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5272234037/">Santa, round 2.</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p>We had success!!! <br /><br />Saturday Santa came to Publix (grocery store, for you non-Southerners) and Connor just marched right up to Santa, said "Hi, Santa" hopped up in his lap, and showed him some trucks. He would do well when we're not having to pay for an overpriced 5x7 at the mall. He actually sat in Santa's lap again after we did our grocery shopping and told him he wanted "trucks and choo-choos" for Christmas. Good thing , because that's what he's getting!!! <br /><br />P.S. Santa, we can tell your beard is fake :)</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-66512557056596155952010-12-18T11:54:00.002-05:002010-12-18T12:14:23.024-05:00Starting to look a lot like Christmas!I realized that I haven't posted any pictures of the holiday decorating yet!- We put up the outdoors stuff a couple of weekends ago. We have a mini tree with lights upstairs in the bonus room window, lighted garland around the front door and wreaths on the windows that light up at night. I think every year we'll probably do a little bit more. Last year we barely decorated outside. I think we were too used to being in an apartment.<br /><br />This isn't a great pic because all the lights are blurry- but the sky looks neat :)<br /><br /><a title="at night by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5220834509/"><img alt="at night" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5220834509_978988dcd7.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><br />Garland around the front door- I think i'm going to look for some more after Christmas on clearance to make it thicker next year.<br /><br /><a title="front door by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5220835217/"><img alt="front door" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5220835217_f9a14659e4.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a><br />(just realized we still have our pumpkins out there, haha)<br /><br /><br /> The rosemary bush- i call it my "charlie brown tree" but I think it looks good with lights.<br /><a title="my charlie brown tree by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5220835865/"><img alt="my charlie brown tree" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5281/5220835865_3389057973.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /><br />I found this cute flag at Hobby Lobby, but sadly it blew away in a tornado storm (seriously). :(<br /><a title="mailbox by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5221431876/"><img alt="mailbox" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5221431876_d0922e93cf.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /><br /><br />Our countertop nativity- please excuse any mess in the background-<br /><a title="'manger" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5271032681/"><img alt="'manger" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5271032681_8829c8c032.jpg" width="500" height="299" /></a><br /><br />Fireplace/mantle with stockings.<br /> The reindeer are our stocking holders, but somebody is nosy, so we put them lower this year.<br /><a title="mantle/stockings. by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5271033597/"><img alt="mantle/stockings." src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5271033597_479c60480e.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a><br /><br />I have to brag about these little trees- I got them both for 12 dollars! I got a printable coupon at CVS for 10 off any of the 29.99 boxed pre-lit trees. So these were 29.99 for the 2pack, but they were on sale for 22. Then I got 10 off that - so 12 dollars for both of them! Next year we'll probably put them on the front porch, but since I didn't want to reconfigure the cords out there , I just put them in the entryway.<br /><a title="entryway w/ my 12 dollar CVS deal! by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5271645970/"><img alt="entryway w/ my 12 dollar CVS deal!" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5271645970_9023e5b06a.jpg" width="500" height="299" /></a><br /><br /><br />Connor's mini tree in his room<br /><a title="Connor's mini tree by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4153304833/"><img alt="Connor's mini tree" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2543/4153304833_96d9061852.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /><br />Finally got some presents under the tree! <br /><a title="finally got some presents under this thing! by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5271644540/"><img alt="finally got some presents under this thing!" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/5271644540_627d687907.jpg" width="299" height="500" /></a>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-46127566613744974572010-12-18T11:39:00.001-05:002010-12-18T11:39:50.793-05:00Picture with Santa<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5245637340/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/5245637340_496226801e.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5245637340/">santa</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p>Last Wednesday, we had Connor's 2 year old well check, and Patrick ended up taking a furlough day so that we could spend the day together (it was my regular day off). <br /><br />First we started at the doctor- my big boy measured out at 28lbs, 12 oz (60%ile) and 36 inches long (88%ile). I knew he had grown, but WOW! No wonder all his pants are too short. Everything was great- He just had to get his flu shot and barely cried. Then we were off! <br /><br />We went to the mall and straight to see Santa! Since it was early, we didn't have a line at all, although this probably backfired because Connor didn't get to watch any other kids sit in Santa's lap before him. I had hoped he would sit nicely in Santa's lap, but as soon as we walked up to him, Mr. Clingy came out and refused to let go of me. So we made a last minute decision to just all join in and get the picture together to avoid a tantrum. He still didn't smile, but at least he didn't cry!<br /><br />Our next stop was Toys R Us- we were sneaky parents and picked up a few things that he didn't see us buying, and he got Emily the Tank Engine as a special treat after his checkup. He was very possessive and almost refused to let the cashier scan it but he did let her. <br /><br />Finally, we went out for a quick lunch at Stax's Omega (Connor had a meat and 3- haha!) . And then home for a nap!!!</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-61572821361369205842010-12-05T10:49:00.000-05:002010-12-05T10:50:40.324-05:00Christmas card preview- Thanks Shutterfly!<div style="WIDTH: 425px; HEIGHT: 494px" class="sflyProductPreviewWidget"><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif); HEIGHT: 6px" class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop"></div><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif); PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-y; HEIGHT: 482px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter"><div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 14px; WIDTH: 105px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 34px; PADDING-TOP: 14px" class="sflyProductPreviewLogo"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 350px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class="sflyProductPreviewContainer"><a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0CbtWrZmxasU/0CbtWrZmxasUcW/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1291564032000/0/" /></a></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f4f4e9; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 55px; PADDING-TOP: 15px" class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer"><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial, sans-seris; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 15px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class="sflyProductPreviewTitle"><span style="font-size:+0;">Modern Cranberry Ribbon Christmas Card</span></div><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial, sans-seris; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="sflyProductPreviewSEOText"><span style="font-size:+0;">Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant <a style="COLOR: #6666cc" href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards">Christmas photo cards</a>.</span></div><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial, sans-seris; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 13px" class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection"><span style="font-size:+0;">View the entire <a style="COLOR: #6666cc" href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery">collection</a> of cards.</span></div></div></div><div style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif); HEIGHT: 6px" class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom"></div></div>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-91348113130773775412010-12-02T08:00:00.002-05:002010-12-02T08:00:06.153-05:00Happy Birthday Baby Boy!It's been 2 years since he entered our lives and nothing has been the same since!!!<br /><br /><a title="Happy birthday baby boy!!! vintage Connor by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5225070973/"><img alt="Happy birthday baby boy!!! vintage Connor" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5284/5225070973_c6015485a2.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-77925341020676435572010-12-01T23:06:00.002-05:002010-12-01T23:10:16.547-05:00wahoo!I added a new background :)<br /><br />So what have I been up to?<br /><br />Putting up the Christmas tree AND new curtains! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5220853195/" title="curtains by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5220853195_f9b7ba75ef.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="curtains" /></a><br /><br />Goodbye ugly vertical blinds!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5221501982/" title="dining by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5221501982_85d01530b6.jpg" width="320" height="213" alt="dining" /></a><br /><br />And bribing a certain toddler to take Christmas pictures- this is the best out of like 100. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5222018181/" title="december 094-1 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5222018181_45fc9b9288.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="december 094-1" /></a><br /><br />and working of course....HELLO WINTER. Fun times.maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-66040109455785521212010-11-08T13:26:00.003-05:002010-11-13T12:02:41.705-05:00It's the most wonderful time of the year.....Ok, I know it is just barely November, but Christmas is almost here! Almost time to put my Christmas music box on my blog, almost time to start wrapping surprises, almost time to get the tree and decorations down from the attic, ect. I'm already burning my Mistletoe candle!!! And another thing- almost time to start working on Christmas cards!<br />I'm loving these adorable <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/flat-stationery-cards">Christmas cards at Shutterfly</a> !<br /><br />How cute is <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/scrapbook-style-sage-christmas-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93479">this</a>? Or<a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/all-wrapped-up-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93479"> this</a>? Or <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/joy-and-magic-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93479">this</a>? I can't decide. All I have decided is that I'll just choose a great picture and upload it to Shutterfly in a flash. Then it is super easy to edit the picture- crop it a little, maybe make it black and white. Then pick a design that I love, maybe even choose more than one picture for my card! And then lickedy-split, Christmas cards are DONE! And they'll arrive at my house soon afterwards thanks to their quick shipping. One less thing on my list!<br /><br /><br />I'm not sure if the hardest part will be deciding on a card, or getting this little person to actually smile for a normal picture:<br /><br /><a title="roar! by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5131851174/"><img alt="roar!" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1330/5131851174_5cee09d47d.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a><br /><br />Head on over to <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards?lid=xmascards&lpos=cscat_marq">Shutterfly </a>to check out the cards!maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-59713464378876469592010-10-24T21:44:00.003-04:002010-10-24T22:16:36.840-04:00What have we been up to???<a title="Look how he's grown! by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/5109397498/"><img alt="Look how he's grown!" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1215/5109397498_a2929aecb9.jpg" width="500" height="281" /></a><br /><br /><br />So we went to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch a couple of weekends ago, and I just uploaded a few pictures to my computer- so here is a preview to compare last year to this year! Look at that tiny baby and now a little boy! Still loves his camo pants! More pics to come!<br /><br />I was on call 4/7 days two weeks ago so I didn't do too much exciting (although fortunately it was a pretty quiet week of call ). So nothing really to report. And no pictures.<br /><br /><br /><a title="International Breastfeeding Symbol by ByMomsForMoms, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lansinoh/3554209332/"><img alt="International Breastfeeding Symbol" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/3554209332_c3753e160a.jpg" width="500" height="500" /></a><br /><br />Then last week I went to a week long training course to become a Certified Lactation Counselor- this is one of the first steps for my eventual goal to become a IBCLC (lactation consultant) - I really have been looking forward to this for a long time!<br /><br />I learned SO much during that week- the teachers did a great job and I met lots of fun women! I missed my boys, and I know they missed me, but I hope that the things I learned will make a difference for the moms in my practice and it makes it totally worth it for me. It is so fulfilling as a pediatrician to help a mom through difficult times and help her meet her goals.<br /><br />Of course it will be another 6-8 weeks till I find out if I actually passed my test!!!maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-67824174748354667602010-10-11T22:43:00.002-04:002010-10-11T22:46:08.300-04:00October 6, 2010 7:05 PM<p>So i have a million pics I need to blog- but I'm posting a quick video from my phone- this is Connor playing with his "see and say" the other night. Remember this toy, 80's babies??? Anyway, if you listen you can hear him saying the sounds the animals make.....</p><p> </p><p>(pause the music at the bottom of my page :)</p><p></p><p></p><p><object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/OEKDfpJaFqM/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OEKDfpJaFqM?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OEKDfpJaFqM?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-84563448552389840742010-10-02T16:15:00.002-04:002010-10-02T16:31:32.428-04:00Halloween Costume is Here!!!<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">Last year Connor was a monkey- a very adorable little monkey of course. <a title="october 037 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4067924541/"><img height="375" alt="october 037" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/4067924541_e74332e19a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">We were trying to decide what for him to do this year, as he is blissfully unable to make too many preferences about his costume right now (and this will soon change :) </div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">I have a friend whose son Jackson was a dragon last year- this was the costume I really wanted for Connor last year that had been sold out. </div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">So guess who is borrowing it this year?? Me of course!!!! </div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">We got it in the mail this morning, and he demanded to try it on immediately. It fits perfectly!</div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXTrIl9m9_loEVIvJaVnWr_Jq1SWOvb2ebXKPUtKllQ3TImlSqZglj1f70ApQqY8IypluASdD6f9_m8UyyxikJURom3bp3H2q5ZODV3aka5LUm77r-It987bUbGQYmloy8OZOl7R2-rIX/s1600/october+011.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXTrIl9m9_loEVIvJaVnWr_Jq1SWOvb2ebXKPUtKllQ3TImlSqZglj1f70ApQqY8IypluASdD6f9_m8UyyxikJURom3bp3H2q5ZODV3aka5LUm77r-It987bUbGQYmloy8OZOl7R2-rIX/s320/october+011.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">My little dragon-boy<br /></div><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJS8DFo1E_g_84dtRyekPE5pmLdPZHMVGTYY8MRqLVKMXzWDQtRQJv__V3WrYplQih-A0VLAUDOp1BDiSO7gv2V7Yu8FKJBaiNsZdOaU4RNWbE8izoy2uMcwOdjL9kne1J1epALn8lM1r/s1600/october+013.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJS8DFo1E_g_84dtRyekPE5pmLdPZHMVGTYY8MRqLVKMXzWDQtRQJv__V3WrYplQih-A0VLAUDOp1BDiSO7gv2V7Yu8FKJBaiNsZdOaU4RNWbE8izoy2uMcwOdjL9kne1J1epALn8lM1r/s320/october+013.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><p align="center">Wings and tail. </p><p align="center"><br /></p><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Fa64X4t_krE5J7LidpnwKAuRbz8k4eehZIGX-HaR7DISJHVMHAXLe6eoftMB2had6brUJnxyA5z63y4KJBYV9uqnK1hjD9ktOniP0wJn_zyhZsNRWJPlnCoTsifHVK2GYLK2BEBmS_0e/s1600/october+014.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Fa64X4t_krE5J7LidpnwKAuRbz8k4eehZIGX-HaR7DISJHVMHAXLe6eoftMB2had6brUJnxyA5z63y4KJBYV9uqnK1hjD9ktOniP0wJn_zyhZsNRWJPlnCoTsifHVK2GYLK2BEBmS_0e/s320/october+014.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><p align="center">the tail sticks out in the back. </p><p align="center">he really liked the claws, btw.<br /></p><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkFqJ08cSc2RbJvgtEg5Nk6L583mWgcEJV6HaOBkN2zbPCtIJJ7LXQ2ZWuDK3Lny39eNelpwCIbwcn7fs9dP1HYwcqXaEJ26tQ6_fRcX2RRRyujDwTMgQofesNdD5teDJmQYfIFQ8sQfi/s1600/october+015.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkFqJ08cSc2RbJvgtEg5Nk6L583mWgcEJV6HaOBkN2zbPCtIJJ7LXQ2ZWuDK3Lny39eNelpwCIbwcn7fs9dP1HYwcqXaEJ26tQ6_fRcX2RRRyujDwTMgQofesNdD5teDJmQYfIFQ8sQfi/s320/october+015.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center">Oh and please excuse the weird picture sizes- i'm learning to blog directly from picasa. </div>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-49293352534273941502010-09-14T13:00:00.002-04:002010-09-14T13:34:08.523-04:00He's obsessed ....with trucks!!!!<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4752060035/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4752060035_4262ee6b72.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4752060035/">At dentist</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p></p><p><br /><br /><br />Our son is obsessed these days with trucks.<br /><br />It used to be dogs- everything for the last few months was woof-woof. He would see a stuffed animal- woofwoof. See a dog- woofwoof. Cat-woofwoof. Animals at the zoo- woofwoof. Well, finally I think he figured it out. Now, large animals - Mewwwww (moo). This includes large dogs, much to our embarassment when he moo-ed at several great danes downtown last weekend. Their owners didn't seem to mind. He also calls small animals "tats" (ha) which means cats, and this includes small dogs. In between animals are still woof-woofs, but he's starting to say dog. I learned about this way of thinking when I was in college in child development (and can't remember what it is called, but it is interesting to see it play out in your own kid!)<br /><br />So now we're obsessed with the trucks. He's always loved those little tonka trucks- he owns basically an entire fleet of vehicles. He also loves his school bus and sometimes the smaller trucks get to ride in the school bus. Now he's saying "truck" more often and he uses it for everything.<br />In the morning he's talking about truck-truck which is daddy's car . When we're going somewhere in my car (honda pilot) he calls it truck-truck-truck and he prefers my car as I guess it is more truck-like. He points to riding lawnmowers and regular lawnmowers and yells TRUCK!. One of the more exciting mornings of his life so far was going to my office when he was sick with a fever (to get a strep test) but the garbage truck happened to be there and he actually got to witness the dumpster being dumped in action. He would not stop talking about the "dump truck!"<br /><br />So anyway, I have completely re-vamped my ideas for his birthday party now. I originally was going to do Yo-Gabba-Gabba (google it) because he loves the music. Well, now we have mr-truck-obsessed. We're doing a truck theme party! Yes, I know it is in Dec, but you know how busy work is at that time of year, so i'm already starting the planning. We'll do truck decorations, a truck cake and I think it will be super cute. Very boy-ish.<br /><br />I've already started finding ideas!<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/RINCO-Child-Construction-Hats/dp/B0023TEEU8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284484794&sr=1-5">Wouldn't these be awesome party hats??</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Under-Construction-Lunch-Plates-8ct/dp/B001VMG9GU/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284484794&sr=1-20">I feel like this design is a little too big boy for him, but it is the only thing I can really find.</a> </p><p><a href="http://www.birthdayexpress.com/Construction-Pals-Party-Supplies/42134/PartyKitDetail.aspx">Or this one?????<br /></a><br />What do you think??? </p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/RINCO-Child-Construction-Hats/dp/B0023TEEU8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284484794&sr=1-5"></a>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-88213464950152746802010-09-14T12:25:00.002-04:002010-09-14T12:39:24.479-04:00Fall is (almost) here!!!So, it is September, as hard as it is to believe!!!<br />Finally starting to cool down a little, can actually enjoy the outdoors these days, pumpkins starting to appear at the grocery store and thinking about the apple orchard. Of course, it is full swing on strep/colds/sinus infections/allergies/school avoidance these days as well!!!!<br /><br />But back to the good stuff:<br /><br />I've gone ahead and started decorating for Fall. At this time last year I was studying for boards so I didn't really do a lot as far as putting up stuff this time of year. But I've already started this year!!!<br /><br />I've had this wreath forever- since I lived in that old house in downtown Macon- and it has held up pretty well. I got it at Hobby Lobby originally, i think.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4986932302/" title="IMAG0403 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4986932302_5ffcd6cafc.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMAG0403" /></a><br /><br />On our mantle, I put up some autumnal garland, a glass jar of cinnamon sticks, apple-cinnamon potpouri and I got a super cute little pumpkin picture frame! ((((HobbyLobby))))<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4986930254/" title="IMAG0400 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4986930254_6388719937.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMAG0400" /></a>This is our "candy bucket" but I think i'm going to put some pinecones in it for now. The last thing we need is a bucket of candy sitting there for the next 6 weeks!!!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4986329779/" title="IMAG0401 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4986329779_6e1a5c0c06.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMAG0401" /></a>Still to come- I want to get a few more outdoorsy type decorations- maybe some mums next to our front door, a hay bale and a scarecrow:)maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-22922609338809012202010-09-12T09:25:00.002-04:002010-09-12T09:41:45.496-04:00Labor Day Weekend UpdateI'm working all weekend/on call so I hope I have nothing exciting to share about this weekend- Last weekend was Labor Day and we were all off from school/work so we did a lot of fun things. I'm a little behind on uploading pics, so i'll go ahead and write this post, and then add in more pics or write an update blog when I get more pics up!<br /><br />We grilled out several times over the weekend- we did burgers/sweet potato fries/grilled corn and then the next night we did London Broil on the grill- Yum!<br /><br /><p><a title="IMAG0395 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4975237179/"><img height="500" alt="IMAG0395" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4975237179_cf4bdb2b94.jpg" width="375" /></a></p><p></p><p>This boy loves sweet potato fries!</p><p><a title="IMAG0394 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4975235879/"><img height="500" alt="IMAG0394" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4975235879_5913ae95d9.jpg" width="375" /></a></p><p></p><p>We spent a lot of time just hangin out, reading, dancing at home. Connor just got this new book (yo gabba gabba -Party in my tummy). He has tons of books, but currently he's obsessed with this one and any book of his that has trucks in it- especially Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go")</p><p><a title="IMAG0396 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4975851054/"><img height="500" alt="IMAG0396" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4975851054_8e3772e2f9.jpg" width="375" /></a></p><p>I also got a little bit crafty and made my first diaper wreath for a coworker who is due with a little boy. I need to attach a few little things on here, but i'm pretty happy with my first creation. <a title="IMAG0392.jpg by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4962762316/"><img height="500" alt="IMAG0392.jpg" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4962762316_7999c70674.jpg" width="375" /></a></p><p>We also stayed busy over the weekend- attended a birthday party for Connor's classmate Peyton and we went Cleveland Park/downtown twice and also went to the zoo!!! More pics to come!</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-60705187984742939102010-09-11T19:37:00.001-04:002010-09-11T19:37:20.097-04:00cvs deals this week! (Saved about 60%)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4980893620/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4980893620_99bccc52e6.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4980893620/">cvs deals this week!</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p>So i've been holding on to an aveeno raincheck for a long time, waiting for them to get more diaper cream and lotion in stock so I could use it. Finally! I would have preferred to get all diaper cream (the aveeno kind is MAGIC!) but i had some printable coupons that were about to expire. So I had to get other stuff which we can definately use as well. <br /><br />Deals: 2 pack body wash 3.99 with one ECB offer - $2 coupon from the red machine= 1.99 with one ECB back.<br />Gummy Vitamins:7.50 BOGO and 1.00 coupon off each bottle. <br />Gain soap:1.39 - free coupon = FREE<br />Aveeno baby products: Raincheck for 3.99 and buy 20/get 10 back in ECB. Plus I had three printable coupons for 1.00. <br />I had only 1.99 in ecb to spend<br /><br />Total 31 something and I got 11 back in ECB. sweet!</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-76136339197813872832010-09-04T08:12:00.001-04:002010-09-04T08:12:15.364-04:00All for 16.90 at Publix! Saved 32 dollars!! (65%)<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4946064581/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4946064581_5ccbf16ef1.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4946064581/">All for 16.90</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p>I haven't posted a good savings wrap up on my blog lately, but I took a pic with my phone and wanted to share it! <br /><br />I caught all these deals on the last day of the sale this past weekend at Publix. <br /><br />Right guard men's Deodorant- normally 3.99 each, on sale BOGO so 2.00 each. Then I had 1.50 off each printable coupons- which made them 50 cents each! <br /><br />Huggies Wipes- normally 19.99 for the big box- I had a 5.00 off store coupon as well as a 2.00 manufactuer's coupon- which made it 12.99. <br /><br />Huggies Wipes (3 normal sized packs)- normally 6.99 and I had a 2.00 off store coupon as well as a 2.00 off manufactuer's coupon, making it 2.99. <br /><br />Campbell's soup- normally 2.40, on sale for 1.19 and then I had a 1.00 off coupon- 19cents! <br /><br />This made a total of 21.90, and I have a mail in rebate for a 5 dollar publix gc for the diapers/wipes! Net of 16.90 for all!</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-16974284625108725522010-08-31T11:44:00.002-04:002010-08-31T12:00:40.273-04:00Clean carpet!!!Hello out there!!! Anybody? <br />I've been terrible about blogging, I realized that the last post was 2 months ago! So i'm going to try to get back on the game asap!!! And here we go- I have a lot to catch up on!<br /><br />This weekend, we had lots to do- <br /><br />First, Saturday morning we met up with a friend Janis and her husband and daughter Hannah at Cleveland Park. We've never played there before as it has been So So Hot lately, but we found out that Connor loves it! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4935288169/" title="airplane by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4935288169_a2ae66b6ec.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="airplane" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4935873450/" title="playing together by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4935873450_023ceaec6d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="playing together" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4935295349/" title="janis and i by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4935295349_3808ea6120.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="janis and i" /></a><br /><br />Connor and Hannah after our walk:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4935293115/" title="babies by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4935293115_3f9edb58a0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="babies" /></a><br /><br /><br />We had a great lunch out together as a family at Copper River and then went to the grocery store and picked up a Rug Doctor.<br /><br /> <br />Now, lately i've been feeling really grossed out by our carpet. we have discussions back and forth. Should we just rip it out and put in hardwoods? get tile throughout? Just leave it because Connor is messy? Put in new carpet? Hire stanley steamer? <br />So after all that we've just lived with the nasty carpet for months. It continues to get grosser as we have *someone* who insists on spilling things constantly. <br />Well i finally gave up and we were going to spend the money to have professionals clean the carpet, but I decided to give the Rug Doctor a try- so of course I found a coupon online, and off to Publix we went! Renting the machine was easy and was only 20 bucks after the coupon. I did buy some cleaning solution as well, but later on I ended up having more success with oxyclean. It took several hours and a lot of physical labor as you have to constantly empty and fill the machine. BUT- it got our carpet really clean, and i'm very happy. I'm not embarassed of our carpet anymore!!!!<br /><br /><a title="helping return the rug doctor by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4944931533/"><img height="500" alt="helping return the rug doctor" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4944931533_6c7d4e5e07.jpg" width="375" /></a><br /><br /><a title="before/after the rug doctor! by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4945523436/"><img height="400" alt="before/after the rug doctor!" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4945523436_bcc3b7f8cd.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Sunday afternoon after we returned the rug doctor, I met another friend at Barnes and Noble for coffee, then we came home and trimmed branches in the yard. We actually ended up tearing down this horrible dead bush that was in the edge of our yard , and i'm sure our neighbors will send us a thank you card. LOL. <br />Connor colored with sidewalk chalk and then ran around hitting bushes with cut branches. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4945510712/" title="IMAG0362 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4945510712_d68d6d1e63.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMAG0362" /></a><br /><br />A busy weekend, but not all good :<br /><br />Unfortunately, there was some poison ivy buried in that old bush- so I just made my husband a doctor's appointment :)maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-46090383682383575392010-06-28T13:55:00.002-04:002010-06-28T14:03:38.477-04:00Weekend Bathroom Makeover !<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740410125/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4740410125_b7e3019b66.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740410125/">june 014</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p></p><br /><br />I did my bathroom makeover this weekend....I used this shower curtain as the inspiration, and painted all the walls Twilight blue (behr paint plus primer). Then i added the matching accessories and ta-da. <br /><br />Now to change out the light fixture, and i'm going to frame out the mirror with white trim. <br /><br />So far, I love it- Such an improvement!maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-70816582485882890122010-06-28T13:54:00.005-04:002010-06-28T14:05:49.873-04:00<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4741048152/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4741048152_6fc1dfae77.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4741048152/">june 019</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p></p><br /><br />My "custom" decorations :)maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-68753072411511154292010-06-28T13:54:00.004-04:002010-06-28T14:04:26.064-04:00<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740520667/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4740520667_444f4b5b66.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740520667/">Mommy's helper</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p></p><br /><br />Somebody really liked the paint rollers....maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-38756203764993515212010-06-28T13:53:00.001-04:002010-06-28T13:53:52.708-04:00<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740411761/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4740411761_d936d7a150.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4740411761/">june 017</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p></p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-60440618371578883222010-06-23T19:56:00.001-04:002010-06-23T19:56:37.513-04:00New bathroom color on right. Twilight blue by behr.<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4728729160/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1062/4728729160_a0ba262a2d.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4728729160/">New bathroom color on right. Twilight blue by behr.</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a>.</span></div><p>I have been planning out redoing our guest bathroom- I was inspired by this shower curtain (thank you Walmart!!!) I wanted to pick a color that coordinated with the lightest blue for that bathroom, and my first three attempts (the horizontal stripes) were total FAILS. Obviously they didn't work well with the curtain . So i've been researching online, playing around and looking at paint swatches. I got this paint color today, Twilight Blue and will be painting this weekend!!! <br />Next step, new mirror and light fixture in there. Then I will finish it out with chocolate brown bath mat and towels.</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-2303909443959228752010-06-21T13:30:00.001-04:002010-06-21T13:30:11.060-04:00Our big boy!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4697959738/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4697959738_e35b223a16_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4697959738/">cool!</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/94545647@N00/">Makclair</a></span><br clear="all" /><p>Connor is growing up! <br /><br />He had his 18 month old well check last week. He was 26lbs , 11 oz and 33 inches long. He had to get 2 shots, but we're finished with his routine immunizations till 4 years old- YAY! <br /><br />He's saying all kinds of words now, starting to say phrases like "what you doing?" and loves to dance to music.<br /> He will move up to the Toddler 2 class at daycare in the next few weeks and loves to bring home art projects from school. <br /><br />He's already been in the pool several times this summer since our vacation, but I haven't gotten any pictures yet. I got him this sprinkler for our yard to help cool down in the summer heat and he thinks it is pretty fun.</p>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8805001729052892484.post-41438388008536635972010-06-16T10:00:00.002-04:002010-06-16T10:36:00.912-04:00Our Hilton Head VacationI'm going to post some pictures, but there are a lot more on my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4642406304/">flickr photostream </a>. So run over there and you can see lots of pics from our trip.<br /><br />Anyway, we had been planning this trip for a while...the last "vacation" Patrick and I have taken was a little trip down to St. Simons when I was 5 weeks pregnant with C. Let me tell you, I was SICK already and it was cold and rainy. Still nice to get away, but I have been in NEED of some beach time. We did go to a conference in Myrtle Beach 2 summers ago, but to me a vacation isn't getting up at 6 to attend lectures all morning. NO!!!<br /><br />So, we randomly picked Hilton Head Island and found a condo and had faith that it would be great, and it was!!! We used <a href="http://vrbo.com/">VRBO</a> to rent our 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo. It was incredible.<br /><br />This is our view from the living room:<br /><a title="may 099 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4632644557/"><img height="375" alt="may 099" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4632644557_b1357d21ba.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />It is a little blurry, but yeah, PERFECT view of the beach.<br /><br />The kitchen was great, had everything we needed. Connor had his own bedroom and bathroom so we had plenty of room to spread out. The balcony was perfect and we ate almost every meal out there. We rented a condo in Palmetto Dunes, and will certainly be back there. Message me for more details.<br /><br />Connor's first walk on the beach:<br /><a title="may 022 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4632506833/"><img height="500" alt="may 022" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4632506833_342f0d0094.jpg" width="375" /></a><br /><br />He loved playing in the sand:<br /><a title="may 029 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4632525135/"><img height="500" alt="may 029" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4632525135_587179dd1d.jpg" width="375" /></a><br /><br />and the surf...<br /><a title="may 062 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633210118/"><img height="375" alt="may 062" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4633210118_c89ce45bb8.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Isn't this the sweetest???<br /><a title="may 061 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4632612299/"><img height="375" alt="may 061" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/4632612299_d8cffb9d6c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />One night we actually met up for dinner with a couple of my residency friends and their spouses and we learned something...Connor loves corn on the cob!!!!<br /><a title="may 046 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633179716/"><img height="375" alt="may 046" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4633179716_f78c2f00a8.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />We did a lot of eating in HHI, as evidenced by this photo:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633190202/" title="may 050 by Makclair, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/4633190202_15ef6d5d11.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="may 050" /></a><br /><br />This was Connor's breakfast at Stacks Pancake House, but he didn't eat it all :)<br /><br />Our best beach photo- it was sunny!<br /><a title="may 069 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633215752/"><img height="334" alt="may 069" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4633215752_42b91b9ba2.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><br />Connor was a good napper every afternoon which led to a lot of this:<br /><a title="may 115 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633254446/"><img height="500" alt="may 115" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/4633254446_4e96460e4f.jpg" width="375" /></a><br /><br />Anyway, it was a great trip, and we can't wait to go back!!!!!<br /><a title="may 127 by Makclair, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94545647@N00/4633269886/"><img height="375" alt="may 127" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4633269886_3171e6e6a2.jpg" width="500" /></a>maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11484318067683367164noreply@blogger.com0